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"Building  the  Western  Quaker  December  2001 

Community  Since  1929"  Volume  72  Number  10 


Reaching  Out  to  All: 
Quaker  Responses  to  Terrorism, 
Afghanistan  and  Middle  East  crisis 


Friends  Bulletin 

The  official  publication  of 
Pacific,  North  Pacific  and 
Intermountain  Yearly 
Meetings  of  the  Religious 
Society  of  Friends  (Quakers) 
(Opinions  expressed  are  those 
of  the  authors, 

not  necessarily  of  the  Yearly  Meetings.) 

Editor 

Anthony  Manousos 
5238  Andalucia  Court 
Whittier,  CA  90601 
Phone:  562-699-5670 
Fax:  562-692-2472 
E-mail:  FriendsBul@aol.com 
Web:  www.quaker.org/ fb 

IMYM  Corresponding  Editor 

Alicya  Malik 

2693  W Avenida  Azahar 
Tucson,  A Z 85745 

NPYM  Corresponding  Editors 

Jean  Triol 
PO  Box  367 
Somers,  MT  59932 
Peg  Morton 

510  Van  Buren  Street 
Eugene,  OR  97402 

PYM  Corresponding  Editor 

Marybeth  Webster 
PO  Box  2843 
Grass  Valley,  CA  95945 

Board  of  Directors 

Robert  Griswold,  Clerk 
1745  Cherry  St 
Denver,  CO  80220 
Lanny  Jay,  Treasurer 

1 8602  Old  Monte  Rio  Rd 
Guemeville,  CA  95446 
Jeannie  Graves,  Recording  Clerk 
PMB  131  Box  8049 
Newport  Beach,  CA  92658-8049 
Phyllis  Hoge 

2 1 3 Darmouth  SE 
Albuquerque,  NM  87106 
Lisa  Down 

PO  Box  11197 

Bainbridge  Island,  WA  98110 
Jim  Kimball 

3050  NW  Lynwood  Circle 
Corvallis,  OR  97330 
Jo  Ann  Taylor 
2850  Midvale  Ave 
Los  Angeles,  CA  90064 
Norman  Pasche 

620  W Columbia  St 
Monroe,  WA  98272-121  1 


From  the  Editor 


Our  “Omnibus  Issue” 
Reaching  Out  to  All: 

The  Light  that  Enlightens  Everyone 


riends  Bulletin ’s  mission — “to  build  up  the  Western 
Friends  community” — seems  more  urgent  now  than 
ever  as  the  USA  engages  in  a potentially  endless  war  that 
is  likely  to  increase  violence  and  jeopardize  civil  liberties  here  and  abroad.  During  these  haz- 
ardous times  Friends  need  to  feel  connected  with  each  other  and  with  those  who  are  con- 
cerned with  peacemaking.  We  also  need  to  share  our  vision— and  our  magazine — with  new- 
comers to  our  meeting. 

This  is  one  reason  we  are  sending  out  over  4,200  copies  of  Friends  Bulletin  to  Friends  in 
the  West  and  elsewhere— our  largest  mailing  ever.  Along  with  our  usual  mailing  of  1,700 
copies,  an  additional  2,500  complimentary  copies  have  been  mailed  out  to  member  house- 
holds as  well  as  to  interested  attenders  in  our  Yearly  Meetings  who  are  not  yet  subscribers. 
The  Board  and  the  editor  hope  that  as  more  Friends  become  familiar  with  our  magazine,  they 
will  want  to  read  it  on  a regular  basis  and  connect  with  Friends  and  Friends  concern  through- 
out the  Western  USA. 

Friends  and  those  who  care  about  peace  and  civil  liberties  are  definitely  a tiny  minority 
right  now.  According  to  recent  polls,  over  90%  of  Americans  support  the  bombing  of  Af- 
ghanistan and  a prolonged  war  against  terrorists,  even  though  many  military  and  foreign  pol- 
icy experts  believe  this  approach  will  increase  rather  than  reduce  violence.  Nearly  80%  of 
Americans  expect  that  we  will  have  to  sacrifice  personal  freedoms  for  the  sake  of  “homeland 
security.” 

We  therefore  need  to  make  an  extra  effort  to  make  our  voice  heard — through  our  publica- 
tions, through  the  Internet,  and  through  our  letters  and  conversations. 

Somehow  we  need  to  communicate  with  those  Americans  who  profess  Christianity,  yet 
fail  to  heed  Jesus’  injunction  to  “love  your  enemy”  (Matthew  4:  44). 

Herb  Dimock’s  work  is  therefore  extremely  timely.  His  novel  Yeshua  demonstrates,  in  an 
imaginary  way,  how  events  in  Jesus’  upbringing  could  have  caused  him  to  reject  violence  and 
to  embrace  the  ethic  of  love.  According  to  Dimock, 


I wanted  readers  to  see  Jesus  as  one  who  opened  a door  through  which  all  of  humanity 
could  travel  at  last — leaving  self-conscious  separateness  behind  and  entering  the  con- 
sciousness of  being  connected  to  every  other  creature  in  the  universe. 

As  Peter  Anderson  points  out  in  his  article  on  the  “Theology  of  Light,”  George  Fox  had  a 
similarly  universalist  vision  when  he  came  to  realize  that  all  people — of  whatever  religious 
background — are  “enlightened”  by  the  same  “divine  light”: 


Now  the  Lord  God  hath  opened  by  his  invisible  power  how  that  every  man  was  enlight- 
ened by  the  divine  light  of  Christ,  and  I saw  it  shine  through  all 

This  experience  of  the  Light  enabled  George  Fox  and  Friends  to  reject  “carnal  weapons” 
and  rely  instead  upon  “spiritual  weapons” — such  as  love  and  compassion. 

That’s  what  Claremont  (CA)  Friends  Meeting  and  other  Meetings  have  done  in  reaching 
to  members  of  the  local  Islamic  community.  That’s  what  the  American  Friends  Service  Com- 
mittee is  doing  by  sending  blankets  and  providing  aid  to  those  in  refugee  camps.  And  that, 
Friends,  is  our  challenge — to  help  Israel  and  the  rest  of  the  world  find  true  peace  and  freedom. 


Cover  photo  of  Edith  Cole  by  Trish  Branley  of  the  Claremont  Courier,  Claremont,  CA  . See  article  on  p.  5. 


FRIENDS  Bulletin  (USPS  859-220)  is  published  monthly  except  February  and  August  by  the  Friends  Bulletin  Corporation  of  the  Religious  Society  of 
Friends  at  5238  Andalucia  Court,  Whittier,  California  90601-2222.  Telephone  562-699-5670.  Periodicals  postage  paid  at  Whittier,  CA  90601-2222. 
Printed  by  Southeast  Graphics,  12508  E Penn  St,  Whittier,  CA  90601. 

SUBSCRIPTION  Rates:  $25  per  year  for  individuals,  $20  per  year  for  group  subscriptions  through  your  local  Friends  meeting.  Check  with  editor  for  a 
student  or  low-income  subscription.  First  class  postage  $10  additional.  Foreign  postage  varies.  Individual  copies:  $3.00  each. 

POSTMASTER:  Send  address  changes  to  Friends  Bulletin,  5238  Andalucia  Court,  Whittier,  CA  90601-2222. 


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Printed  on  Recycled  Paper 
With  Non-Toxic  Soy/Vegetable  Ink 


Page  2 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


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Friends  Bulletin 


Israel  and 
Palestine 

Report  from 
a Friends  Peace 
Team  Participant 


Bill  Durland  listening  to  the  story  of  a Palestinian  family  being  harassed  by  Israeli  settlers — Photo  by  author 


by  Bill  Durland 

Lamb’s  Community  Worship  Group 
(Trinidad,  CO) 

The  Middle  East  conflict  between  Is- 
rael and  Palestinians  has  been  going 
on  for  over  53  years  in  its  modem  phase. 
But,  in  fact,  the  area  has  been  tom  by  re- 
ligious and  political  turmoil  since  re- 
corded history  began.  The  name  Palestine 
is  a derivation  of  Philistia  taken  from  the 
‘sea  people,’  the  Philistines,  who  probably 
came  from  Greece  and  early  on  occupied 
the  sea  coast  area.  The  Canaanites  and 
other  Semitic  tribes  possessed  the  high 
land  and  to  the  north  the  Phoenicians 
dwelt.  Farther  to  the  east  lay  Mesopota- 
mia, and  to  the  southwest  was  Egypt,  as 
the  2nd  century  began. 

When  Moses  led  the  people  of  Israel 
out  of  Egypt,  the  biblical  story  relates  that 
God  told  them:  “...if  you  will  obey  my 
voice  and  keep  my  covenant,  you  shall  be 
by  own  possession  among  all  peoples  for 
all  the  earth  is  mine,  and  you  shall  be  to 
me  a kingdom  of  priests  and  a holy  na- 
tion” (Exodus  19:5).  The  covenant  was 
conditional  upon  two  things:  1)  faith,  and 
2)  obedience.  The  terms  clearly  stated  that 


Bill  and  Genie  Durland  were  appointed 
Intermountain  Yearly  Meeting  (IMYM)  repre- 
sentatives to  Friends  Peace  Teams  Project 
(FPTP),  which  was  founded  to  encourage 
Friends  "to  meet  creatively  and  flexibly  emerg- 
ing needs  in  areas  of  tension  and  violence  both 
at  home  and  abroad ” ( see  http.f/www.quaker. 
org/fptp). 

A clearness  process  in  their  Worship 
Group  was  followed  by  dialogue  with  Friends 
in  Albuquerque  Monthly  Meeting,  and  mem- 
bers of  the  FPTP  Coordinating  Committee. 
Funding  was  provided  by  Albuquerque 
Monthly  Meeting,  the  Elise  Boulding  Fund  for 
Peace  Team  Work  and  individual  members  of 
IMYM.  IMYM's  2001  gathering  sent  Bill  and 
Genie  on  their  way  with  blessings  and  prayers. 


unbelief  or  disobedience  would  violate  the 
covenant  and  the  promises  would  be  with- 
drawn by  God.  After  the  Israelite  tribe  took 
the  land  from  the  Philistines  and  the  Ca- 
naanites, that  is  what  happened.  The  great 
Kingdoms  of  David  and  Solomon  col- 
lapsed with  the  Northern  Kingdom  falling 
to  the  Assyrians  in  the  8th  century  and  the 
Southern  Kingdom  to  the  Babylonians  in 
the  5th  century.  The  nation  and  its  kingship 
and  the  temple  and  priesthood  ended  as  the 
prophet  Hosea  predicted  (Hosea  3:4):  “For 
the  children  of  Israel  shall  dwell  many  days 
without  king  or  priest,  without  sacrifice  or 
pillar  ...”  But  the  prophet  Isaiah  gave  them 
hope  that  “if  you  take  away  from  the  midst 
of  you  the  yoke,  the  pointing  of  the  finger 
and  speaking  wickedness  and  pour  yourself 
out  for  the  hungry  and  satisfy  the  desire  of 
the  afflicted,  then  shall  your  light  rise  in  the 
darkness  ...  and  your  ancient  shrines  shall 
be  rebuilt  ...  You  shall  be  called  the  re- 
pairer of  the  breach,  the  restorer  of  streets 
to  dwell  in”  (Isaiah  58:9-10,  12).  Jesus,  in 
the  synagogue  at  Nazareth,  read  these 
words  of  Isaiah  as  the  foundation  of  his 
mission  (Luke  4:18). 

In  the  1st  century  BCE* **,  the  Greeks 
conquered  all  of  what  was  Israel.  The  Ro- 
man Empire  took  over  in  66  BCE  from  the 
rebellious  Macabees  and  ruled  the  land, 
later  as  Roman  Christians,  until  the  Mos- 
lem invasion  and  occupation  in  the  7th  cen- 
tury CE*.  Moslem  rule  lasted,  with  a 200 
year  hiatus  under  Crusader  rule,  until  1918, 
the  last  700  years  under  the  Turks.  Follow- 
ing World  War  I,  Palestine  become  a 
League  of  Nations  mandate  under  Great 

*Before  the  Common  Era  = B.C. 

**  Common  Era  = A.D. 


Britain.  The  British  promised  Arab  lands, 
re-conquered  by  them  with  Arab  help,  to 
be  a united  Arab  nation  stretching  from 
Mecca  to  Baghdad;  but  also  promised 
European  Jews  a ‘homeland’  (not  neces- 
sarily a ‘nation’)  there  as  well.  The  land, 
inhabited  mostly  by  Palestinian  Christian 
and  Moslem  Arabs  and  a small  percentage 
of  indigenous  ‘oriental’  Jews,  saw  in- 
creased European  emigration  until  the 
British  pulled  out  leaving  their  military 
equipment  in  the  hands  of  Jewish  settlers. 
The  settlers  rose  up  in  1948-49  and  ille- 
gally conquered  77  percent  of  territory 
which  had  been  ordered  to  be  partitioned 
under  a United  Nations  directive.  The  Pal- 
estinians retained  about  23  percent,  there- 
after called  ‘the  West  Bank.’  A Jewish 
nation  was  proclaimed  and  America 
quickly  recognized  it. 

A Jewish  theocracy,  like  that  of 
David  and  Solomon,  did  not  emerge,  but 
rather  a secular  state  which  discriminated 
in  favor  of  European  Jews  over  the  in- 
digenous Jews  and  Palestinians  who  lived 
there.  Violent  conflict  has  been  the  history 
ever  since,  with  wars  in  1967,  when  Israel 
occupied  the  West  Bank,  and  1973.  Non- 
violent resistance  was  introduced  in  1983 
at  a meeting  in  Jerusalem  of  500  Palestin- 
ian peace  activists  (which  your  writer  and 
his  wife  attended).  In  1987  and  again  in 
2000  the  Intifada  took  place— a mixed 
uprising  of  violence  (rock-throwing  and 
small  arms)  and  nonviolence.  It  became 
apparent  that  the  Israeli  ‘peace’  offer 
called  the  Oslo  Accords,  agreed  to  reluc- 
tantly by  Arafat  in  1993,  would,  at  best, 
return  only  93  percent  of  the  West  Bank's 
23  percent  of  former  Palestine  to  the  Pal- 


Page  3 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


estinians.  In  fact,  only  a non-contiguous 
three  percent  has  actually  been  returned. 

With  an  escalation  of  the  violence 
occurring  in  2001,  there  seems  to  be  no 
end  of  fighting  or  ‘peace’  (cessation  of 
armed  violence)  or  a just  resolution  of  the 
rights  and  duties  of  the  state  of  Israel  and 
the  Palestinian  Authority,  the  political 
voice  of  Palestine. 

It  has  become  clear,  as  this  writer  sees 
it,  that  the  state  of  Israel  is  not  acting  in 
good  faith  to  move  forward  with  their  pre- 
viously stated  agreement  to  establish  a free 
and  independent  Palestinian  state.  The  rea- 
sons given  to  renege  on  the  original  prom- 
ise (which  is  the  main  reason  why  the  vio- 
lence has  increased)  can  be  summarized  as 
follows: 

(1)  The  land  was  promised  by  God  to 
the  Israelites  in  the  2nd  century  BCE. 

(2)  The  holocaust,  in  which  6 million 
Jews  were  victims  of  Nazi  genocide,  justi- 
fies the  taking  of  Palestine  for  an  Israeli 
state  and  the  military,  political,  and  legal 
actions  taken  against  the  Palestinians  by 
the  Israeli  occupiers.  Further,  anyone 
who  criticizes  Israel  criticizes  Jews  and 
is  therefore  anti-Semitic. 

3)  Palestine  has  refused  peace  and  a 
political  state,  not  Israel,  because  it  has 
rejected  the  Oslo  Accords  in  which  Is- 
rael and  the  Palestinians  agreed  to  a re- 
turn of  93  percent  of  the  West  Bank. 

4)  Palestinians  do  not  deserve  the 
return  of  their  conquered  land  or  the 
West  Bank  because  they,  and  not  Israel, 
are  terrorists. 

5)  The  military,  political  and  legal 
actions  of  the  Israeli  occupiers  have 
been  in  accord  with  human  rights  and 
international  law  and  offer  no  excuse  for 
the  Palestinian  uprisings;  therefore  Israeli 
retaliation  is  justified. 

The  responses  to  these  arguments  are 
as  follows: 

1)  The  promised  land  was  theologi- 
cally conditioned  as  a permanent  posses- 
sion (and  never  as  owned,  since  only  God 
owns  the  land)  and  the  conditions  were 
broken.  As  a matter  of  fact  several  relig- 
ious beliefs  have  only  acted  to  exacerbate 
the  conflict.  Some  Christians  are  insistent 
that  Jesus  will  not  return  a second  time  for 
the  last  judgment  until  the  temple  is  re- 
built. Since  the  place  where  the  temple 
must  be  rebuilt  now  holds  the  Dome  of  the 
Rock,  a Moslem  holy  place,  the  Mosque 
must  be  destroyed  and  that  can  only  hap- 
pen with  Israeli  help.  Some  Moslem  fun- 
damentalists believe  that  peace  cannot 


come  until  Armageddon  takes  place  30 
years  from  now  which,  according  to  the 
Koran,  they  say,  will  end  in  all  the  land 
being  restored  to  Moslems.  These  beliefs 
should  not  obstruct  a just  resolution  of  the 
conflict. 

2)  The  holocaust  argument  is  refuted 
by  brave  Jewish  Israeli  citizens  and 
groups,  some  of  whom  we  met  and  worked 
with  while  there,  for  example  Rabbis  for 
Human  Rights,  Israelis  Against  Home 
Demolitions,  Gush  Shalom  (Israeli  Peace 
Bloc)  and  the  Women  in  Black.  Rabbi 
Arik  Ascherman  told  us  “victims  should 
not  make  new  victims,”  and  calls  on  his 
people  to  stop  seeing  themselves  as  vic- 
tims. We  viewed  the  changes  (having  been 
there  in  1983-84)  — ghettos  and  segrega- 
tion, permanent  road  blocks,  illegal  Israeli 
settlements  on  Palestinian  land,  forced 
emigrations,  destruction  of  neighborhoods 
and  unprovoked  extermination  of  individ- 
ual people  on  an  hourly  basis  unreported 
by  the  American  press.  Arabs  are  also 
Semites,  and  what  is  now  taking  place 


could  be  described  as  the  second  ‘anti- 
Semitic  holocaust.’ 

3)  The  rejected  peace  offer  argument 
is  spurious.  Almost  100  percent  of  the  land 
was  Palestinian  through  British  rule.  Sev- 
enty-seven percent  was  taken  away  in  an 
aggressive  war  in  1948-49.  The  remaining 
23  percent  was  taken  away  in  1967.  In 
1993,  a return  of  93  percent  was  offered, 
and  3 percent  actually  has  been  returned 
but  none  of  it  contiguous  or  capable  of 
becoming  one  country. 

4)  The  terrorist  argument  fails  to  men- 
tion that  Israeli  government  leaders  such 
as  Menachem  Begin— a violent  saboteur 
and  member  of  an  Israeli  terrorist  organi- 
zation in  1948-49  (terror  was  the  method 
of  choice  in  the  1948  war  to  get  Palestini- 
ans to  flee),  and  Ariel  Sharon,  an  accused 


murderer  of  200  Palestinian  refugees  in 
Lebanon  in  the  early  1980s  have  been  le- 
gitimized as  leaders  of  a nation.  Although 
sneak  suicide  bombings  by  Palestinians  is 
as  wrong  as  sneak  assassinations  by  Is- 
raelis, the  terrorist  argument  is  at  least  a 
draw  between  a powerful  nation  and  a 
subjugated  people,  some  of  whom  have 
given  in  to  utter  desperation. 

The  American  legal  definition  of  Acts 
of  Terrorism  may  be  found  at  Chapter  18 
of  the  US  Code  in  Section  3077.  Its  lan- 
guage indicts  both  sides. 

5)  Lastly,  the  argument  that  Israeli 
military,  political  and  legal  actions  have 
been  in  accord  with  human  rights  and  in- 
ternational law  flies  in  the  face  of  the  past 
and  current  history  of  the  occupation.  The 
main  classes  of  violations  can  be  catego- 
rized as  segregation,  forced  emigration 
without  right  of  return,  and  extermination. 
UN  Resolutions  have  clearly  stated  that 
‘settlement’  of  Israelis  in  Palestinian  terri- 
tory, the  annexation  of  Palestinian  terri- 
tory as  part  of  Israeli  Jerusalem,  and  the 
aggressive  conquering  and  occupa- 
tion of  the  West  Bank  are  all  viola- 
tions of  international  law.  But  the 
specific  violations  which  in  total 
amount  to  crimes  against  humanity 
under  the  Nuremberg  Trials  of  Nazis 
are: 

1)  creating  ghettos  where  Palestinians 
are  herded  and  cannot  move  freely, 
including  curfews  and  house  arrests, 

2)  border  closings,  3)  water  confisca- 
tion, 4)  land  confiscation,  5)  demoli- 
tion of  homes,  6)  killings  of  alleged 
terrorists  without  trial,  including  as- 
sassinations, 7)  continuation  of  refu- 
gee camps  after  53  years,  8)  preven- 
tion of  health  and  emergency  care,  9)  de- 
struction of  economic  infrastructure,  10) 
‘moderate  physical  pressure’  i.e.  a legal- 
ized degree  of  torture,  and  1 1)  indiscrimi- 
nate and  random  killing  of  innocent  men, 
women  and  children  by  IDF  soldiers  with 
or  without  government  orders. 

Compare  the  massacres  of  Native 
Americans  as  ‘savages’  and  subhuman, 
Nazi  massacres  of  Jews  in  World  War  II 
and  lynchings  of  African  American  with- 
out trial,  segregation,  discrimination  and 
sneak  killings  in  the  south  in  violation  of 
human  and  civil  rights.  It  is  not  ‘the  Jews’ 
who  are  doing  this  any  more  than  it  was 
‘the  Jews’  who  killed  Christ  or  the  Ger- 
mans who  killed  Jews.  It  is  a legitimate 
democratically  instituted  secular  nation 
state  in  each  instance — Rome,  Nazi  Ger- 


Our  dream  is  Martin’s:  that  someday  Pales- 
tinian and  Israeli  cousins  will  join  hands,  and 
live  in  peace.  Freedom  will  ring  out  from  the 
snowcapped  mountains  of  Lebanon  to  the  sun- 
baked desert  of  the  Negev,  from  Mt.  Hermon 
in  the  north  to  the  Red  Sea  in  the  south. 
Then  will  all  God’s  children,  dark  and  light, 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  Israelis  and  Palestinians, 
be  able  to  join  hands  and  sing  in  the  words  of 
the  old  Negro  spiritual,  ‘free  at  last,  free  at 
last,  thank  God  almighty,  we  are  free  at  last,’ 
in  that  land  which  is  called  Holy. 


Page  4 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


many,  the  United  States  and  Israel.  Rome 
was  overthrown  by  so-called  ‘barbarians,’ 
the  Nazis  were  tried  for  war  crimes,  the 
US  Constitution  won  out  in  America  pro- 
tecting minority  civil  rights.  Israel  is  yet  to 
be  judged  finally  by  the  international  com- 
munity. There  is  still  time  for  a fair  and 
just  peace  in  the  Middle  East.  But  time  is 
running  out. 

We  pray  for  peace  with  justice  □ 


Friendly  Responses 
To  Current  Conflict 


Reaching  out  to  Muslims 

Many  Friends ' meetings  (along  with 
churches  and  synagogues)  have  been 
reaching  out  to  local  mosques  and  build- 
ing bonds  of  friendship  to  counteract  anti- 
Muslim  and  anti- Arab  feelings  surfacing 
in  the  wake  of  the  September  11th  attacks. 

Some  meetings  have  also  instituted 
special  worship  sessions,  sometimes  in 
mid-week,  and  sometimes  prior  to  or  after 
Sunday  meeting  for  worship. 

When  a local  Muslim  woman  was 
harassed,  Claremont  (CA)  Friends  began 
accompanying  Muslim  parents  at  the  local 
Islamic  pre-school.  They  also  wrote  an 
“Open  Letter  to  Our  Muslim  Neighbors 
and  the  World"  and  a personal  statement 
was  read  by  Claremont  Meeting  clerk, 
Charleen  Krueger,  at  the  September  16 
Unity  Sunday  event  at  a local  mosque, 
which  was  attended  by  approximately 
1,400  people  and  during  which  represen- 
tatives from  a variety  of  religious  tradi- 
tions spoke. 

For  current  info  about  peacemaking 
activities  of  Western  Friends,  see  http:// 
members.aol.com/friendsbul/peacemakers. 
html. 

Minute  from  Claremont 
Monthly  Meeting: 
September  30,  2001 

We  grieve  for  the  thousands  of  peo- 
ple who  died  or  were  injured  in  the 
attacks  in  the  United  States  on  September 
11,  2001;  we  mourn  with  their  families 
and  friends.  We  honor  those  who  have 
given  their  lives  to  rescue  and  care  for  the 


Web  Sites  promoting  Middle  East  Peace: 

♦ Western  Friends:  http://members.aol.com/ 
ffiendsbul/peacemakers.html 

♦ Bat  Shalom:  www.batshalom.org 

♦ BTselem-www.btselem.org 

♦ Christian  Peacemaker  Teams:  www.  prairienet. 
org/cpt 

♦ Gush  Shalom:  www. gush-shalom.org. 

♦ Jewish  Unity  for  a Just  Peace:  www.junity.org. 

♦ Middle  East  News  Online:  www. 
middleeastwire.com 


injured.  We  are  grateful  to  those  who  con- 
tinue bravely  into  danger’s  path.  We  are 
saddened  by  the  attacks  on  our  Muslim 
neighbors.  We  are  children  of  the  same 
maker.  Friends  believe  that  there  is  that  of 
the  Divine  in  each  person  and  that  each 
life  is  sacred  and  unique. 

We  share  the  world’s  anguish  and 
anger  about  the  loss  of  life  here  now,  but 
also  about  the  loss  of  life  in  other  nations 
in  recent  times.  We  seek  justice  in  the 
courts  of  international  law,  not  retribution. 
Neither  military  might  now  endless  “and 
eye  for  an  eye”  has  brought  safety  from 
terrorism.  Since  its  founding,  The  Relig- 
ious Society  of  Friends  turns  from  war 
and  all  forms  of  violence — “neither  for 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  nor  for  kingdoms 
of  this  world”,  spoke  George  Fox  in  1660. 
We  seek  to  live  “in  the  virtue  of  that  life 
and  power”  that  takes  away  the  occasion 
of  war.  Therefore,  we  seek  to  heal  the  cir- 
cumstances that  give  rise  to  violence  and 
war — social  injustice,  hunger,  poverty, 


♦ Not  In  My  Name:  www.nimn.org 

♦ Rabbis  for  Human  Rights:  rhr.israel.net/ 
overview,  shtml 

♦ Shalom  Center:  www.shalomctr.org 

♦ Tikkun:  www.tikkun.org 

♦ Ta,ayush:  www.taayush.tripod.com/taayush. 
html 

♦ Palestinian  Center  for  Rapprochement  be- 
tween People:  www.rapprochement.org 

♦ Ecumenical  Center  for  Palestinian  Liberation 
Theology  (Sabeel):  www.sabeel.org 


and  ignorance,  and  other  dividers  of  people. 

Through  participation  in  Unity  Sunday 
(September  16  at  the  Islamic  Center  of 
Claremont)  and  by  providing  a friendly  pres- 
ence at  two  Islamic  schools,  we  reach  out  to 
our  Muslim  neighbors.  We  look  forward  to 
more  time  together  among  faith  communi- 
ties. 

A Personal  Reflection 

by  Charleen  Krueger, 

Clerk  of  Claremont  (CA)  Meeting 

The  core  belief  of  members  of  the  Relig- 
ious Society  of  Friends,  the  Quakers,  is 
that  there  is  that  of  God,  of  the  divine,  in 
each  person,  and  that  we  treat  people — all 
people — accordingly.  I stand  before  you  to- 
day, confessing  that  for  many  years  I hated 
two  people  who  did  terrible  things  to  me, 
things  of  which  I am  reminded  daily.  I used 
to  wonder  where  they  were,  and  what  they 
were  doing.  I used  to  wish  a slow  and  pain- 


Pat  Smith  accompanies  parents  and  children  from  a Muslim  pre-school  in  Claremont,  CA 
Photo  by  Trish  Branley  of  the  Claremont  Courier 


Page  5 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


fill  death  for  them.  One  day  I received  a 
blessing  — the  true  realization  that  there 
was  that  of  God  in  them,  too.  And  that  the 
only  person  being  hurt  by  my  hatred  was 
me.  It  was  poisoning  my  heart  and  eating 
my  soul.  In  that  moment,  my  hatred  was 
gone.  I remembered  Jesus  on  the  cross. 
He  said  “Father,  forgive  them,”  not  “I  for- 
give you,”  but  “Father,  forgive  them.” 

I leave  the  forgiveness  to  God,  but  I 
am  the  only  one  who  can  rid  the  hatred 
from  my  heart. 

If  the  more  than  5,000  deaths  we 
have  suffered  this  week  happened  to  us 
twenty  times  a year  for  ten  years,  they 
would  not  equal  the  deaths  in  the  Middle 
East,  in  Africa,  in  the  Philippines,  in  Ire- 
land, in  Europe,  in  South  America.  Deaths 
caused  by  war,  oppression,  famine,  and 
embargoes. 

I want  justice  for  the  world,  not  re- 
venge. 

Peace  begins  with  each  of  us  as  indi- 
viduals, in  our  hearts  and  in  our  souls.  But 
peace  begins  in  the  world  when  we  wage 
peace  against  the  causes  of  war — hunger, 
injustice,  ignorance  to  name  a few.  Today 
is  a start.  Where  do  we  go  from  here? 
What  do  we  do  after  today  to  remove  the 
causes  of  war?  O 

A Letter  to  Students 

Susanne  Weil  is  Director  of  Whittier  Col- 
lege Writing  Programs  and  Associate  as 
well  as  Professor  of  English.  She  is  also  a 
member  of  Whitleaf  (Whittier,  CA ) 
Friends  Meeting  and  former  clerk  of  the 
Friends  Association  of  Higher  Education 
(see  FB,  July-August,  1999). — Editor. 

Ever  since  we  began  bombing  Af- 
ghanistan, I have  felt  a recurring 
sense  of  deja  vu,  remembering  a President 
Bush  saying,  “We  are  not  at  war  with  the 
people  of  Iraq....” 

Three  months  after  the  Gulf  War 
ended,  I saw  Norman  Schwarzkopf,  in  an- 
swer to  a journalist’s  question  on  CSPAN, 
say  that  only  23%  of  our  “smart  bombs” 
had  hit  their  targets  during  the  siege  of 
Baghdad,  densely  populated  by  civilians 
whom  Saddam  Hussein’s  Republican 
Guard  stopped  from  fleeing. 

We  were  not  at  war  with  the  peo- 
ple of  Iraq,  but  we  killed  thousands  of 
them,  and  when  the  war  was  over,  Hussein 
was  still  in  power.  Since  that  time,  our 
embargo  has  cost  the  lives  of  thousands 
more  Iraqis. 


Now  another  President  Bush  tells  us 
that  “we  are  not  at  war  with  the  people  of 
Afghanistan.”  Regardless  of  whether  we 
believe  the  Taliban’s  statistics  on  civilian 
deaths,  our  own  military  has  admitted  to 
at  least  two  incidents  of  multiple  killings 
already,  and  tells  us  that  such  deaths, 
though  regrettable,  are  inevitable  in  war. 
To  prove  that  even  though  our  bombs  are 
killing  them,  we  are  not  at  war  with  the 
Afghanis,  we  are  airlifting  food  packages, 
distributing  thus  far  about  37,000  meals. 
Yet  the  World  Food  Program  has  esti- 
mated the  numbers  of  displaced  people 
fleeing  Afghani  cities  at  close  to  7.5  mil- 
lion, and  relief  organizations  like  the  WFP 
have  had  to  suspend  operations  because  of 
the  war. 

If  my  home  had  been  bombed  and  I 
had  lost  people  I loved,  I would  not  be 
comforted  by  an  airborne  food  package. 
And  I would  not  believe  that  the  nation 
that  sent  the  bombers  was  not  at  war  with 
me.  Osama  Bin  Laden’s  organization  and 
others  like  it  rely  on  just  such  reactions  to 
recruit  the  next  generation  of  terrorists.  In 
fact,  Taliban  training  camps  adopt  and 
raise  orphans.  Will  the  new  war  orphans 
believe  George  W.  Bush  or  Osama  Bin 
Laden? 

Though  I am  a New  Yorker,  I was 
fortunate  on  September  11  not  to  lose 
anyone  I knew.  My  grief  over  what  hap- 
pened that  day  can’t  compare  to  that  of 
anyone  who  did.  But  bombing  Afghani- 
stan will  not  bring  back  those  dead.  As 
Mark  Twain  wrote  in  “The  War  Prayer,” 
when  we  pray  for  victory  in  war,  the  in- 
evitable consequence  of  that  victory  is 
“the  unspoken  part”  of  our  prayer:  the  suf- 
fering of  people  on  the  other  side  who  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  war.  Rhetorically 
separating  the  Taliban  from  the  Afghani 
people  will  not  bring  civilian  dead  back, 
either,  and  the  survivors  will  not  believe 
that  we  meant  them  no  harm.  They  will 
interpret  what  we  are  doing — bombing 
Afghanistan  at  the  cost  of  countless  civil- 
ian lives — as  revenge.  They  will  believe 
that  the  only  lives  we  care  about  are 
American  lives.  And  as  the  cycle  of  re- 
venge revolves  throughout  the  decades  to 
come,  we  are  likely  to  suffer  the  conse- 
quences of  that  belief. 

That  suffering  may  spread  to  include 
the  destabilizing  of  Pakistan  and  other 
nations  in  the  region,  where  protests  grow 
daily  in  scope  and  intensity.  Meanwhile, 
as  we  begin  to  work  with  the  Northern 
Alliance,  we  seem  to  ignore  that  group’s 


documented  human  rights  abuses.  Deja  vu 
all  over  again:  we  armed  Saddam  Hussein 
while  he  contained  a fundamentalist  Iran 
for  us.  We  helped  the  Taliban  when  they 
were  fighting  the  former  Soviet  Union. 
Once  again,  US  foreign  policy  seems  fa- 
tally short-term  in  its  thinking:  “the  enemy 
of  my  enemy  is  my  friend  for  now.” 

What  should  we  do  instead?  The  only 
suggestions  I can  make  will  not  satisfy 
many  people.  In  1993,  we  began  a long 
term  search  for  the  perpetrators  of  that 
World  Trade  Center  bombing:  when  we 
found  them,  we  put  them  on  trial,  and  they 
were  convicted  and  jailed.  It  took  years — 
but  no  civilians  died.  I would  like  to  be- 
lieve in  that  as  the  American  way. 

Another  suggestion  I’d  offer  comes 
from  John  Woolman,  the  18th  century 
Quaker  who  persuaded  American  Friends 
to  stop  holding  slaves.  Woolman  asked 
“that  we  who  declare  against  wars,  and 
acknowledge  our  trust  to  be  in  God  only, 
may  walk  in  the  light  and  therein  examine 
our  foundation  and  motives  . . . look  upon 
our  treasures,  the  furniture  of  our  homes, 
and  our  garments,  and  try  whether  the 
seeds  of  war  have  nourishment  in  these 
possessions?”  Terrible  poverty  haunts 
these  regions  of  the  world  from  which  the 
terrorists  who  hate  us  emerge.  Tme,  the 
US  gives  more  foreign  aid  than  any  other 
nation.  However,  as  our  economy  grows 
increasingly  global,  I wonder:  can  we  af- 
ford not  to  do  more?  Can  we  continue  to 
feel  entitled  to  use  a disproportionate 
share  of  the  earth’s  resources?  To  answer 
those  questions,  I have  to  begin  by  asking 
myself  in  what  ways  I contribute  to  what, 
in  principle,  I don’t  approve. 

In  “The  Cure  at  Troy,”  Seamus  Hea- 
ney writes, 

History  says,  Don’t  hope 
On  this  side  of  the  grave. 

But  then,  once  in  a lifetime, 

The  longed-for  tidal  wave 
Of  justice  can  rise  up, 

And  hope  and  history  rhyme. 

So  hope  for  a great  sea-change 
On  the  far  side  of  revenge. 

Believe  that  a further  shore 
Is  reachable  from  here.  . . . 

Hope  and  believe,  please.  But  don’t 
stop  there.  Organize  teach-ins.  Donate  to 
relief  organizations.  Read,  leam,  and  tell 
your  representatives  what  you  think  best 
for  them  to  do  in  your  name,  with  your 


Page  6 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


taxes,  and  why.  Those  of  you  who  dis- 
agree with  what  I have  said  here  must 
do  the  same.  Representative  democracy 
starves  if  no  one  feeds  it.  As  a nation, 
we  have  a lot  to  figure  out  together,  and 
we  can  all  do  much  more  than  watch 
CNN  replay  the  fall  of  the  Twin  Tow- 
ers. Each  of  us  can  start  by  asking  what 
we,  as  individuals,  feel  called  to  do. 

— Susanne  Weil,  Whittier,  CA. 

A Quaker  view  of  terrorism 

by  Bill  Ashworth 
South  Mountain  WG  (OR) 

As  the  terrible  events  of  September 
1 1 unfolded,  I found  myself,  like 
most  Americans,  glued  to  a news 
source — in  my  case,  the  news  center  at 
Yahoo.com.  I kept  returning  to  my  Web 
browser,  picking  at  the  story  as  if  it 
were  a scab  I couldn’t  keep  my  fingers 
away  from.  And  as  the  enormity  of  the 
attacks  sunk  in  and  the  cries  for  revenge 
mounted,  I found  myself  deep  in 
mourning — not  just  for  the  current  vic- 
tims, but  for  the  victims  yet  to  come.... 

On  the  day  following  the  attacks, 
six  of  us  met  at  the  meeting  house  of 
South  Mountain  Friends  Meeting  in 
Ashland.  We  had  gathered  for  a regular 
committee  meeting,  but  the  talk  turned 
inevitably  toward  New  York  and  Wash- 
ington, and  we  ended  the  evening  clasp- 
ing each  other’s  hands  in  silent  prayer 
for  the  victims,  for  the  perpetrators,  and 
for  those  who  face  the  immensely  diffi- 
cult job  of  crafting  America’s  response. 
Just  before  we  entered  the  silence,  one 
woman  spoke  quietly,  the  first  sentence 
her  own,  the  second  from  William 
Penn.  “We  have  been  shown  what  hate 
can  do,”  she  said.  “Now  let  us  see  what 
love  can  do.” 

We  cannot  make  terrorism  impossi- 
ble. Let  us  work,  instead,  to  make  it  un- 
thinkable. □ 

AFSC  Calls  For 
Donations  of  Blankets 
for  Afghanistan 

Philadelphia,  PA — The  American 
Friends  Service  Committee  (AFSC) 
through  its  Emergency  and  Material  As- 
sistance Program  (EMAP)  is  seeking 
donations  of  clean,  serviceable  blankets 
to  send  to  Afghanistan  refugees  in  Paki- 


stan and  Iran  who  have  been  displaced 
by  military  action. 

“With  winter  coming  on,  the  most 
immediate  need  is  for  warm  blankets,” 
explained  Carlos  Mejia,  EMAP  direc- 
tor. “We  are  seeking  individual  dona- 
tions and  also  larger,  corporate  in-kind 
contributions.  We  hope  for  a quick  re- 
sponse so  that  we  can  ship  them  as  soon 
as  possible.” 

Afghanistan  has  one  of  the  largest 
refugee  populations  in  the  world,  mak- 
ing the  situation  a humanitarian  crisis 
of  “stunning  proportions,”  according  to 
the  United  Nations. 

“We  have  already  sent  375  bales  of 
blankets  to  distribute  to  refugees  in 
Iran,”  adds  Michael  Poulshock,  EMAP 
interim  assistant  director.  “Because  the 
situation  in  and  around  Afghanistan  is 
so  fluid,  an  AFSC  representative  will 
also  travel  to  Pakistan  to  conduct  both  a 
short  and  long  term  needs  assessment.” 

Poulshock,  who  previously  served 
as  the  AFSC  field  coordinator  in 
Kosovo  between  1999  and  2000  went 
on  to  explain,  “The  Emergency  and  Ma- 
terial Assistance  Program  (EMAP)  is 
now  in  its  80th  year  of  operation  and 
provides  relief  after  disasters,  both 
natural  and  man-made,  and  works  di- 
rectly and  with  partner  agencies,  in- 
cluding the  Mennonite  Central  Commit- 
tee, a relief,  service,  and  peace  agency 
of  the  North  American  Mennonite  and 
Brethren  in  Christ  churches.” 

Blankets  may  be  brought  or 
shipped  to  the  AFSC  collection  center 
in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  or  to  one 
of  the  regional  centers  in  Baltimore, 
Maryland;  Cambridge,  Massachusetts; 
High  Point,  North  Carolina;  Richmond, 
Indiana;  or  San  Francisco,  California. 

The  effort  is  a part  of  The  AFSC 
“No  More  Victims”  campaign,  which 
was  launched  to  help  victims  and  survi- 
vors of  the  September  1 1 tragedies.  The 
campaign  supports  work  on  the  ground 
in  New  York  and  Washington,  DC, 
helps  assist  Afghan  refugees  fleeing 
their  homes  for  safety,  and  mobilizes 
support  for  peaceful  solutions — not  vio- 
lence and  retaliation — in  the  face  of 
those  terrible  acts  of  anger  and  hatred 
and  the  suffering  they  caused. 

Cash  donations  may  be  directed  to 
AFSC  No  More  Victims-Afghan  Relief 
and  mailed  to  AFSC/Development, 
1501  Cherry  Street,  Philadelphia,  PA 
19102. 


To  contribute  via  Visa  or  Master- 
card, call  888-588-2372,  ext.  1.  For 
more  information  on  the  American 
Friends  Service  Committee  and  the  No 
More  Victims  campaign  please  visit  our 
web  site  at  http://www.afsc.org/nomore. 
htm,  or  call  215-241-7060. 

Reedwood  Friends  Church 
(Portland,  Or) 

Leslea  Smith  read  the  following  prayer 
during  worship  on  September  23: 

Our  God, 

Creator, 

Bright  Friend: 

We  are  a peace  loving  people. 

You  have  taught  us  to  love  peace. 

Today,  our  longing  for  peace  is  not  so 
much  a prayer  as  a cry. 

God,  you  have  told  us  we  are  blessed 
when  we  make  peace. 

How,  God,  can  we  make  peace  in  these 
days? 

Creator,  we  cannot  make  anything  good 
apart  from  you. 

So  may  we  first  make  peace  with  you. 
Where  there  is  doubt  in  our  hearts,  re- 
place it  with  faith. 

Where  there  is  wrongdoing  in  our  lives, 
may  we  replace  it  with  right  living. 
Then  let  us  make  peace  in  our  families 
And  may  our  understanding  of  who  is 
our  family  be  large. 

Let  us  make  peace  with  our  neighbors 
And  may  our  understanding  of  who  is 
our  neighbor  be  large. 

We  pray  for  our  neighbors  in  the  Mid- 
dle East 

And  especially  for  our  sisters  and 
brothers  in  faith — Christian,  Jew 
and  Muslim. 

God,  as  you  are  one, 

May  we  be  one  in  our  longing  and 
working  for  peace. 

God,  we  pray  too  for  peace  in  those 
parts  of  the  world  so  much  on  our 
mind  in  these  days — in  Afghani- 
stan, in  Pakistan,  and  in  our  own 
country. 

Creator, 

If  there  are  words  we  can  say,  actions 
we  can  take,  if  there  is  love  we  can 
give, 

Give  us  the  wisdom  to  know  it  and  the 
courage  to  do  it. 

Help  us,  Bright  Friend. 

Amen. 


Page  7 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


How  Can  Israel  Find  Peace  and  Freedom? 

The  Boy  Jesus’  Conversations 
with  the  Elders  of  the  Temple 


by  Herb  Dimock 

Grass  Valley  (CA)  Friends  Meeting 

[The  following  is  an  excerpt  from  Herb 
Dimock 's  novel  about  Jesus  ’ upbringing 
called  Yeshua:  Seeing  God  Through  the 
Eyes  of  His  Child.  Yeshua  is  the  Aramaic 
name  for  Jesus.  Zeke  is  one  of  Yeshua ’s 
peers,  a 12-year  old  more  interested  in 
sight-seeing  than  in  spiritual  explora- 
tion.— Editor.] 

When  the  dawn  light  came  again, 
Zeke  was  snoring  in  the  deepest  of 
sleep,  Yeshua  left  quietly  and  slipped  out 
into  the  fresh  morning  air.  He  sat  alone  on 
the  bottom  step  of  the  stone  staircase, 
pulled  out  of  his  pouch  some  unleavened 
bread  and  made  breakfast.  With  a blanket 
roll  over  his  shoulder  he  walked  slowly 
through  the  almost  empty  streets  back  to- 
ward the  temple. 

Inside  the  gate  to  the  Court  of  the 
Gentiles  he  was  relieved  to  see  that  only  a 
few  people  were  yet  wandering  through 
the  big  open  space.  The  silence  was  bro- 
ken by  the  occasional  bleat  of  a tethered 
sheep.  Yeshua  found  a place  to  sit  quietly 
against  a pillar  at  the  edge  of  the  colon- 
nade. 

This  was  the  first  moment  since 
their  departure  from  Nazareth  that  he  had 
time  to  think,  time  without  having  to  re- 
spond to  other  people.  Yeshua  closed  his 
eyes  and  drifted  quietly  into  a deep  medi- 
tation in  which  he  found  himself  asking 
the  God  of  his  people  how  he  was  sup- 
posed to  find  the  truth.  “What  kind  of  per- 
son is  the  messiah  going  to  be?” 

His  silence  lasted  much  longer  than 
he  had  counted  on,  so  that  when  he  again 
opened  his  eyes  there  were  many  more 
people  in  the  courtyard  and  the  business 
of  the  day  was  moving  briskly  ahead. 

He  roused  himself,  shouldered  his 
pack,  and  began  a walk  inside  the  pillars 
that  defined  the  colonnade,  heading  to- 
ward the  Court  of  the  Women. 

About  halfway  along  he  stopped,  for 


directly  in  front  of  him,  seated  on 
benches,  was  a group  of  men.  Their  elabo- 
rate ceremonial  robes  and  headgear  and 
the  phylacteries  filled  with  scripture  selec- 
tions, which  were  tied  on  arms  and  fore- 
heads, made  him  feel  sure  these  were  rab- 
bis, maybe  from  the  priestly  class.  There 
were  ten  of  them. 

He  stood  behind  their  semicircle  and 
listened  full  of  growing  eagerness.  With 
some  passion  they  were  talking  about  the 
freedom  of  Israel.  Especially  they  were 
discussing  an  incident  that  must  have  hap- 
pened the  day  before,  about  a young 
Zealot  who  had  been  arrested  by  the  Ro- 
mans for  stirring  up  trouble  in  the  Court 
of  the  Gentiles. 

Slowly  Yeshua  moved  closer  to  the 
circle,  not  wanting  to  miss  anything,  and 
finally  stood  within  arm’s  reach  of  two  of 
the  men.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  cir- 
cle, Yeshua  soon  realized,  one  of  the 
teachers  was  watching  him  intently.  After 
several  minutes  the  man  interrupted  the 
dialogue. 

“My  esteemed  comrades,  may  I call 
to  your  attention  that  a young  man  has 


joined  our  circle,  and  I propose  that  he 
might  be  able  to  bring  light  to  our  discus- 
sion about  the  Zealots  in  our  midst.” 

All  eyes  turned  to  assess  who  the  new- 
comer might  be,  and  one  of  the  men  whose 
back  had  been  close  to  Yeshua,  spoke  up. 
“Son,  why  don’t  you  come  around  and 
face  us,  so  that  we  can  talk  with  you.” 

With  rising  anticipation  Yeshua  re- 
sponded and  took  up  a position  in  the  cir- 
cle where  all  the  men  could  see  him.  The 
first  man  spoke  again. 

“From  the  looks  of  your  clothing  and 
your  pack  you  must  be  from  Galilee.” 

When  Yeshua  nodded  agreement  the 
man  went  on. 

“The  Zealots  have  been  busy  in  your 
province.  They  were  busy  here  yesterday. 
One  young  man,  not  much  older  than  you, 
almost  stirred  up  a riot,  with  cries  of 
‘freedom’  and  ‘drive  the  Romans  into  the 
sea.’” 

Another  man  in  the  circle  added  his 
observation.  “The  stripling  did  his  shout- 
ing on  the  steps  not  two  paces  from  where 
you  now  stand — until  the  Roman  police 
dragged  him  away.” 


Page  8 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


A third  voice  joined  the  exchange. 
“We  are  interested  to  learn  how  you  see 
the  incident.” 

And  a fourth  man  spoke  up.  “It  was 
much  more  than  an  ‘incident’  as  my 
honorable  colleague  calls  it.  The  young 
man  stirred  up  such  feelings  in  the  crowd 
that  in  one  more  minute  there  could  have 
been  a wild  riot  and  bloodshed.  As  one  of 
the  Passover  crowd,  how  do  you  see  it?” 

Yeshua  was  thrilled  that  the  rabbi 
showed  interest  in  his  point  of  view.  “I 
was  not  in  the  temple  court  at  the  time,” 
he  answered,  “but  I surely  would  not  want 
any  more  lives  to  be  lost.  In  Galilee  the 
Zealots  are  busy,  as  you  say.  I am  not  one 
myself.  I lost  an  uncle  who  was.  At  the 
time  when  General  Varus  destroyed  Sep- 
phoris,  the  Romans  nailed  my  uncle  to  a 
cross.” 

Another  voice  joined  the  conversa- 
tion. “Ah,  so  the  young  man  knows  from 
personal  experience  what  we  are  con- 
cerned about.” 

He  spoke  directly  to  Yeshua.  “We  are 
members  of  the  Sanhedrin  and  are  respon- 
sible for  keeping  peace  in  the  country. 
This  morning  we  are  keen  to  know  the 
current  pulse  of  the  people.  That  is  why 
we  want  to  hear  from  you.” 

“I  too  am  eager  for  peace,”  said 
Yeshua,  “but  I would  like  to  ask  you  a 
question,  which  I think  may  have  a lot  to 
do  with  our  country’s  freedom  and 
peace.”  He  paused  and  took  a deep  breath. 
“What  about  The  One  Who  Is  To  Come? 
I want  to  know  about  him,  about  the  mes- 
siah.  Who  is  he?  When  will  he  come? 
How  will  we  recognize  him?  How  will  he 
give  freedom  to  our  people?” 

Yeshua  was  not  prepared  for  what 
followed.  The  faces  of  all  the  men  were 
transformed.  Suddenly  they  were  in  noisy 
disagreement  with  each  other.  Some 
leaned  toward  the  image  of  the  messiah  as 
a heavenly  being,  while  others  argued  for 
a strong  leader  from  the  tribe  of  Judah. 
Some  were  sure  he  would  come  very  soon 
and  others  were  equally  sure  that  centuries 
would  pass  before  the  blessed  event 
would  happen.  Most  of  the  group  spoke  of 
a violent  overthrow  of  the  enemies  of  the 
Israel. 

As  Yeshua  listened  he  realized  he  had 
touched  on  the  hottest  of  questions,  and 
his  disappointment  grew,  for  there  was  no 
agreement  anywhere  in  sight.  He  was 
hearing  the  deep  misery  of  the  people 
finding  voice  in  leaders  who  did  not  know 
any  more  than  the  average  man.  He 


watched  with  fascination  as  the  men  lunged 
to  their  feet  to  pour  out  their  feelings  at 
each  other.  All  of  the  men  were  cautious 
about  the  words  they  used,  not  once  refer- 
ring to  the  Romans  by  name.  They  all  had 
apparently  lost  track  of  the  one  who  had 
asked  the  question. 

Slowly  Yeshua  backed  away  from  the 
group  and  down  the  steps  until  the  mass  of 
people  in  the  courtyard  swallowed  him  up. 
His  first  venture  as  an  asker  of  questions 
had  left  him  empty-handed. 

Surely  there  were  other  rabbis  he 
could  seek  out.  But  first  he  needed  to  delve 
deeper  into  his  inner  world,  to  the  private 
place  within  where  all  the  puzzles  contin- 
ued to  jostle  his  spirit. 

Without  his  conscious  willing,  Yeshua 
found  himself  pulled  back  to  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  to  the  spot  where  his  family  had 
been,  but  which  he  knew  would  likely  be 
empty.  He  wondered  where  Zeke  might  be 
now.  As  he  sat  alone  under  one  of  the  an- 
cient trees  and  stared  again  at  the  great 
eastern  wall  of  Jerusalem,  his  heart  opened 
once  more  to  the  sadness  that  Sepphoris 
had  brought  into  his  life.  It  was  good  to 
know  that  Zeke’s  father  and  others  were  at 
work  to  rebuild  the  city,  but  what  loomed 
even  larger  was  his  awareness  that  the  fears 
and  hates  that  wrought  the  destruction  were 
still  terribly  alive  in  his  fellowmen.  Even 
the  massive  walls  of  Jerusalem  could  some- 
time be  flattened  in  the  same  way. 

He  thought  of  his  father  and  how  he 
had  cast  off  hate.  Never  in  all  of  his  twelve 
years  had  he  seen  Joseph,  whom  he  re- 
spected above  all  others,  never  had  he  seen 
him  give  way  to  anger  and  violence. 
“Surely  the  messiah  would  not  be  a hater.” 
Yeshua  began  to  review  once  more  a 
thought  that  he  had  gleaned  from  the  scroll 
of  Isaiah  about  The  One  Who  Was  To 
Come. 

Behold  my  servant,  whom  I uphold, 

my  chosen,  in  whom  my  soul  delights; 

I have  put  my  spirit  upon  him,  he  will 

bring  forth  justice  to  the  nations. 

“Yes!  The  anointed  one  would  help  all 
peoples!  And  he  will  be  one  whom  our 
God  will  choose!  “ 

Yeshua ’s  memories  at  last  roused  him 
to  his  feet.  He  needed  to  return  to  the  city 
in  all  its  unloveliness  and  seek  once  more 
for  the  better  answers.  Even  as  he  visual- 
ized his  family  trudging  up  the  Jordan  Val- 
ley, he  knew  he  needed  to  find  other  teach- 
ers in  the  temple  to  whom  or  with  whom  he 


could  share  his  dreams  and  hopes. 

Not  until  late  afternoon  did  he  dis- 
cover a group  of  men  without  ceremonial 
dress  that  appeared  to  him  as  rabbis  of  a 
different  style. 

As  he  stood  near,  respectfully  listen- 
ing to  their  dialogue,  it  soon  became 
clear  that  this  was  a gathering  of  Phari- 
sees. 

Yeshua  inched  closer,  and  once 
again  the  fact  was  unmistakable  that  tem- 
ple teachers  were  interested  in  the  minds 
of  young  men.  One  of  the  rabbis  signaled 
his  fellows. 

“We  have  a student  in  our  borders. 
Shall  we  attend  to  his  questions?” 

Another  voice  joined  the  invitational 
moment.  “Come  in,  son.  Come  in  to  our 
circle.  We  are  always  interested  in  the 
thoughts  of  the  younger  generation.” 

Yeshua  saw  heads  nodding  and 
smiles  approving  the  welcome.  Without 
shyness  and  with  a rising  sense  of  ur- 
gency he  stepped  into  the  open  side  of 
the  circle  and  bowed  respectfully. 

“Thank  you.  I am  Yeshua  from  Gali- 
lee. I came  to  the  Passover  with  questions 
about  the  life  of  our  people  and  I have 
yet  to  find  any  answers.” 

“You  have  come  to  a good  place,” 
said  the  first  man.  “Perhaps  together  we 
can  explore  the  scriptures  and  receive 
guidance.  What  is  your  question?” 

As  Yeshua  swept  his  gaze  around  the 
circle,  one  man’s  face,  distinguished  by  a 
rich  brown  beard  and  gentle  loving  eyes, 
captured  his  attention,  and  he  looked 
twice  to  register  the  face  and  the  smile 
more  firmly. 

“My  biggest  question  is  about  The 
One  Who  Is  To  Come.  Who  is  the  mes- 
siah, the  savior  of  our  people?” 

“Definitely  an  important  matter,” 
came  the  approving  response.  “And  how 
do  you  see  the  Anointed  One?” 

Yeshua  was  pleased  that  there  ap- 
peared to  be  no  controversy  aroused  by 
his  question,  as  it  had  been  with  the  San- 
hedrin group. 

He  was  happy  to  share  his  feelings. 
“Well,  I have  heard  many  people 
insist  that  the  messiah  will  be  a warrior 
king  who  will  slaughter  our  enemies.  Is 
that  what  you  believe?” 

“Not  at  all,”  said  the  apparent  leader 
of  the  group.  “We  Pharisees  do  not  ap- 
prove of  the  revolutionary  shoutings  of 
the  Zealots.  We  feel  they  are  a real  dan- 
ger to  our  salvation.  Their  aggressiveness 
could  convince  the  Romans  that  we  must 


Page  9 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


be  destroyed.” 

Yeshua  nodded  his  eager  agreement. 
“Then  we  are  not  to  look  forward  to  a 
kingdom  like  that  of  David?  “ 

Another  voice  entered  the  dialogue,  a 
man  with  the  blackest  of  black  beards. 

“On  this  point  we  need  to  be  careful. 
The  messiah  will  definitely  be  a Son  of 
David.  But  the  new  kingdom  which  he 
will  bring  will  be  one  that  unites  all  the 
people  in  devotion  to  the  Law  of  Moses. 
Not  by  way  of  violence.” 

The  man  with  the  brown  beard  spoke, 
and  his  voice  was  like  music,  gentle  and 
singing. 

“In  the  scroll  of  Jeremiah  we  read 
these  lines: 

I will  cause  a righteous  Branch  to 
spring  forth  from  David,  and  he  shall 
execute  justice  and  righteousness  in 
the  land. 

Think  about  it,  son.” 

Yeshua  felt  a warm  glow  rising  in  his 
heart,  yet  there  was  still  something  incom- 
plete in  what  he  was  receiving.  A vision 
expressed  in  one  of  Rabbi  Matthan’s 
scrolls  called  to  him  again. 

“What  about  what  Isaiah  wrote?”  he 
asked. 

For  to  us  a child  is  bom,  to  us  a 
son  is  given; 

And  the  government  will  be  upon 
his  shoulder. 

And  his  name  will  be  called 


Wonderful  Counsellor, 

Mighty  God,  Everlasting  Father, 
Prince  of  Peace. 

“Aye,”  said  the  leader,  “that  will  be 
the  Son  of  David.” 

“But  when  will  he  come?  How  will  he 
bring  peace  to  all  the  nations?”  Yeshua 
begged.  “How  will  he  be  known?” 

There  was  a shaking  of  heads  around 
the  circle,  until  at  last  the  man  with  the 
brown  beard  responded  sadly.  “My  name 
is  Nicodemus,  and  that  is  the  question  that 
I ask  everyday.  And  so  I ask  you,  ‘Can  it 
possibly  be  that  you,  Yeshua,  could  give 
the  answer  to  ‘When?’” 

The  leader  of  the  group  broke  into  the 
dialogue  with  a touch  of  impatience.  “The 
answer  to  your  question,  Nicodemus,  is  the 
truth  we  teach  everyday.  The  messiah  will 
come  when  the  people  leam  to  obey  the 
Law  of  Moses,  and  not  before!” 

Yeshua  felt  a surge  of  disappointment. 
The  Law?  There  was  something  missing.  It 
sounded  too  much  like  what  Rabbi  Matthan 
said  day  after  day.  Surely  there  was  more. 

Abruptly  the  conversation  was  inter- 
rupted, for  a familiar  voice  broke  in  with  a 
tone  of  reprimand. 

“Yeshua!” 

He  turned,  and  there  at  the  foot  of 
the  steps  stood  Joseph  with  Mary  at  his 
side.  In  a moment  of  daze,  as  he  strug- 
gled to  reconnect  with  his  everyday 
world  of  the  carpenter’s  family,  he 


moved  slowly  down  the  stairs  to  join 
them. 

Mother  Mary  spoke  with  stem 
sharpness.  “’Shua!  How  could  you  do 
this  to  us?  We  didn’t  discover  that  you 
were  missing  until  we  were  far  up  the 
Jordan  Valley!”’ 

Yeshua  looked  back  and  forth  be- 
tween his  parents  in  some  confusion. 
He  glanced  back  at  the  group  of  Phari- 
sees who  were  watching  silently.  The 
haunting  image  of  his  mother’s  dream 
about  his  birth  came  alive  again  to  his 
inner  eye.  He  knew  he  couldn’t  explain 
his  need  to  anyone  no  more  than  he 
could  to  Zeke.  He  spoke  hesitantly. 
“I — I just  had  to  come  here,  Mother.” 

And  then  as  the  pain  of  his  break 
with  his  best  friend  came  surging  back, 
“But  I’m  worried  about  Zeke.  Did  he 
travel  with  you?” 

“Yes,”  said  Father.  “He  caught  up 
with  us.  That’s  how  we  knew  you  would 
be  here.” 

Mary’s  scolding  continued.  “At 
least  you  could  have  let  us  know.” 

“Mother,  you  told  me  that  on  my 
own  I should  search  for  answers  with 
the  heavenly  Father.  Didn’t  you? 

She  glanced  helplessly  toward  Jo- 
seph, and  he  stared  back  at  her  with 
puzzled  questioning  in  his  face. 

Yeshua  fell  into  silence.  There 
were  no  answers  from  anyone.  □ 


Portrait  of  Jesus  As  A Young  Quaker 

One  is  tempted  to  paraphrase  James  Joyce  and  call  this  book  Portrait  of  Jesus  as  a Young  Quaker.  Its  author,  Herb  Dimock,  is  a con- 
vinced Friend  with  an  unusually  varied  career.  He  earned  a Masters  in  Divinity  from  the  Pacific  School  of  Religion,  taught  humani- 
ties at  the  University  of  Puget  Sound,  pastored  four  churches  in  the  state  of  Washington  and  California  for  the  United  Church  of  Christ, 
directed  a Skid  Road  ministry,  and  co-founded  the  Gold  County  Institute  of  Noetic  Science  (a  movement  founded  by  Dr.  Edgar  Mitchell, 
the  astronaut  who  landed  on  the  moon  in  1971  and  felt  a sense  of  “universal  connectedness”).  In  1976,  Herb  and  his  wife  Margaret  moved 

to  Grass  Valley  and  joined  the  Religious  Society  of  Friends. 

Dimock’s  novel  about  Yeshua  (the  Aramaic  name  for  Jesus),  like 
James  Joyce’s  Portrait  of  an  Artist  as  a Young  Man,  is  a novel  about 
growing  up.  It  explores  the  complex  psychological  and  social  factors 
that  could  have  shaped  Jesus’  childhood  and  helped  him  to  realize  his 
potential,  and  his  mission,  as  Israel’s  (and  humankind’s)  “Annointed 
One.” 

His  novel  shows  the  human  side  of  Jesus  as  well  as  his  growing 
consciousness  of  the  Divine  Reality  guiding  and  underpinning  his  life. 
Yeshua  is  so  emotionally  gripping  that  it  would  make  an  excellent 
movie  (Dimock  has  written  two  stage  plays  based  on  biblical  themes). 
At  the  same  time,  the  book  is  historically  plausible  and  spiritually  en- 
lightening. 

This  is  a book  that  will  challenge  Friends  of  all  branches  of  Quak- 
erism to  “see  God  through  the  eyes  of  His  Child.”  I recommend  this 
book  to  anyone  who  wants  to  know  God  and  Jesus  as  a Friend.  (See 
also  Lois  Barton’s  view  on  p.  20).  — Editor 


YESHUA 


V 


Meet  the  youthful  Jesus 
before  the  Church  hid  him 
under  layers  of  dogma. 

From  age  10  to  29,  he  was 
a pilgrim  discovering  the 
Creator's  plan  for  everyone. 

A NEW  NOVEL  BY 
HERB  DIMOCK 

Available  at  bookstores, 
Amazon.com  or 
SterlingHouse  Publisher 
1-888-542-BOOK 


Page  10 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


The  Cosmic  Christ: 


This  talk  was  given  by 
Herb  Dimock  to  the 
Unitarian  Universalist 
Community  of  the 
Mountains  in  Grass 
Valley,  CA.  For  more 
about  Herb  Dimock ’s 
life  and  his  recent  book, 
see  p.  5.  Pictured  here 
is  Herb  with  his  wife 
Margaret.  Together 
they  recently  wrote  a 
book  called  Golden 
Marriage:  Secrets  for  a 
Long  and  Loving  Un- 
ion. They  have  been 
married  60  years  and 
have  four  children  and 
twelve  grandchildren. 


The  Next  Step 
in  Evolution 

by  Herb  Dimock 

Grass  Valley  (CA)  Friends  Meeting 

Let  me  start  with  a brief  word  about 
the  plot  of  Yeshua:  Seeing  God 
through  the  Eyes  of  His  Child  without 
robbing  you  of  the  pleasure  of  reading  the 
full  text  (see  p.  3 for  an  excerpt).  This  is  a 
story  about  Jesus  of  Nazareth  beginning  at 
age  ten  and  tracing  the  development  of  his 
life,  year  by  year,  to  age  29,  before  the 
beginning  of  his  ministry. 

Many  stories  have  been  written  about 
these  “hidden  years.”  This  one  starts  with 
a shocking  experience  that  marks  for  him 
the  end  of  childhood  and  ushers  him  into 
the  adult  world  of  Palestine  of  the  1st 
Century  — the  Roman  dominated  world. 

This  is  followed  by  the  time  when 
Jesus’  mother  tells  him  of  the  dream  she 
had  at  his  birth.  Her  story  launches  him 
into  an  intense  pilgrimage  during  which 
he  is  struggling  to  understand  what  it 
means  to  be  “anointed” — to  be  a 
“messiah” — to  be  selected  for  a special 
divine  task,  and  whether  he  is  really  the 
one.  He  starts  by  seeing  himself  as  just  an 
ordinary  person  who  lives  in  the  tiny  town 
of  Nazareth  in  unimportant  Galilee.  In 
twenty  years  he  finds  the  climax  of  his 
pilgrimage  at  the  River  Jordan  when  he 
confronts  his  cousin,  John  the  Baptist,  and 
is  ready  to  begin  his  ministry. 

I come  to  you  this  hour  as  a story- 
teller, but  not  to  tell  the  story,  for  this  is 
what  the  book  will  do.  Instead  I would 
like  to  share  with  you  why  I wrote  about 
Yeshua,  the  Aramaic  name  for  Jesus. 

I think  I share  with  most  storytellers 
one  question:  After  reading  the  story,  did 
it  make  any  difference  to  you? 

I write  because  I want  to  help  the 
world  “make  a difference.” 

Here  we  are  then  in  the  beginning 
years  of  the  twenty-first  century.  I find  I 
am  driven  by  a feeling  that  more  than  ever 
before  in  the  history  of  humankind  we,  all 
of  us,  need  to  see  the  Big  Picture  and  re- 
spond to  it. 


So  let  me  begin  with  a little  personal 
history.  A biographical  background  that 
will  help  us  move  toward  the  why. 

I was  bom  into  a family  that  did  not 
“go  to  church.” 

Both  my  mother  and  my  father  were 
spiritual  seekers.  They  pushed  out  onto 
the  frontiers  of  religion. 

From  them  I picked  up  my  first  clues 
about  the  difference  between  religion, 
which  is  institutional  and  dogmatic  and 
spirituality,  which  is  about  the  human 
quest  for  a personal  and  social  relation- 
ship with  deity  — with  the  Creator  of  the 
universe. 

My  mother  especially  searched  every 
tradition:  Hindu,  Buddhist,  Christian,  Uni- 
tarian, Unity,  Sufi,  Hebrew,  etc,  etc.  I 
have  no  doubt  that  she  is  the  one  who 
planted  my  feet  on  the  Way. 

Three  years  after  I finished  my  bache- 
lor’s degree  at  UC  Berkeley  I found  my 
mate  Margaret,  who  was  the  daughter  of  a 
Congregational  minister. 

Very  soon  I entered  Pacific  School  of 
Religion  full  of  questions  about  the  life  of 
the  spirit  and  about  the  career  of  a clergy- 
man. That  is  when  I really  began  my  life- 
long pilgrimage. 

I learned  a great  deal  about  the  Chris- 
tian Bible  and  about  creed  and  dogma 


which  all  religions  develop.  I was  exposed 
to  many  “belief  systems.” 

But  most  of  all  I “fell  in  love  with” 
Jesus,  the  man  of  Nazareth. 

Career  wise  I spent  25  years  in  the 
parish  ministry,  with  four  different 
churches:  in  Berkeley,  Antioch  and  Seat- 
tle. I had  three  years  as  Director  of  a Seat- 
tle Skid  Road  service  center,  and  five 
years  as  professor  of  humanities  at  the 
University  of  Puget  Sound.  And  then  Mar- 
garet and  I moved  to  Nevada  County  to 
become  writers. 

I began  the  story  of  Yeshua  in  1995, 
frankly  as  fiction.  I had  no  compunctions 
about  that  because  I had  learned  pro- 
foundly that  all  of  the  New  Testament 
Gospels  also  are  essentially  fiction. 

All  of  those  stories  were  written  forty 
years  and  more  after  his  death — after  dec- 
ades of  “around  the  campfire”  elaborating 
on  his  life  and  message. 

Nor  do  I have  any  negative  feelings 
about  the  value  of  fiction.  Even  the  auto- 
biographies that  people  write  adjust  facts 
to  make  a sharper  picture. 

I am  very  clear  that  so-called  fiction 
often  has  the  power  to  reveal  truth  better 
than  a simple  recitation  of  facts. 

And  so,  in  1995,  as  I began  the  story, 
I was  motivated  by  a major  conviction  — 


Page  11 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


that  the  Christian  Church  through  twenty 
centuries,  with  all  its  competing  creeds 
and  dogmas,  had  missed  or  distorted  some 
of  the  most  important  meanings  of  Jesus’ 
life  and  ministry  and  consciousness. 

I will  acknowledge  that  belief  sys- 
tems are  important. 

They  do  have  a function,  which  is  to 
conserve  human  experience  and  pass  it  on 
to  the  next  generation.  But  they  also  have 
very  serious  limitations. 

A belief  system  is  only  a signpost  on 
the  journey  of  life.  Its  function  is  to  point 
a direction  for  travelers  on  the  journey 
itself.  What  I have  seen  again  and  again, 
in  all  sorts  of  churches,  is  that  people  tend 
to  gather  around  and  hug  the  signpost, 
when  they  should  be  out  on  the  road. 
They  worship  their  belief  system. 

The  real  need  is  for  so-called  believ- 
ers to  “walk  their  talk.”  Sign  posts  are 
“religious,”  not  spiritual.  They  are  human 
words,  not  the  reality  of  Spirit. 

One  of  the  most  significant  chal- 
lenges to  the  Biblically  based  belief  sys- 
tems came  to  our  world  during  the  20th 
century  with  the  development  of  a new 
cosmology. 

The  best  that  our  ancient  Christian 
and  Hebrew  ancestors  could  figure  out 
was  that  the  Earth  was  flat;  that  the  blue 
sky  overhead  was  a huge  rigid  dome;  that 
there  were  windows  that  let  the  rain  come 
through;  and  that  heaven  was  on  the  other 
side  of  the  dome. 

Today  we  understand  not  only  that 
the  Earth  is  a sphere,  and  that  its  orbit 
takes  it  around  the  Sun,  but  that  in  fact  the 
universe  had  its  beginning  12  to  15  billion 
years  ago  with  what  is  now  called  the  Big 
Bang,  and  that  we  have  been  expanding 
ever  since. 

Science  has  given  us  a great  deal  of 
help  in  understanding  our  place  in  this 
amazing  spread  of  planets  and  suns  and 
galaxies.  But  there  is  one  thing  that  sci- 
ence cannot  do,  and  that  is  to  take  us  back 
before  the  Big  Bang. 

It  cannot  tell  what  preceded  the  be- 
ginning. That  is  the  function  of  our  spiri- 
tuality. 

Consistently,  the  great  religions  of 
our  world  would  say  that  it  was  the  Crea- 
tor, it  was  God,  who  certainly  started  the 
Big  Bang.  That  it  was  a divine  intelli- 
gence or  Consciousness  that  launched  the 
whole  universe  experience — launched  and 
continues  to  elaborate  it. 

Now,  as  a storyteller,  this  brings  me 
to  the  essential  background  that  leads  into 


“Yeshua”  — the  story  of  evolution. 

I feel  that  our  evolution  comes  to  focus 
as  the  development  of  consciousness.  An 
ant  has  what  we  may  call  simple  conscious- 
ness. So  also  do  alligators  and  dinosaurs 
and  birds  and  mammals. 

And  then  along  comes  a special  form 
of  the  ape  family  a hominid  who  develops 
self-consciousness. 

I’m  sure  we  all  have  had  the  experi- 
ence of  what  we  call  being  “self- 
conscious” — meaning  awkward  or  embar- 
rassed or  suffering  under  the  criticism  of 
others. 

But  there  is  more  than  that.  What  in 
the  world  really  can  we  say  about  what  is  a 
self?  A great  deal  of  mystery  hovers  around 
that  word.  I know  that  I am  I.  I am  con- 
scious that  I am  alive.  And  most  sharply  of 
all,  as  a self-conscious  creature,  I feel  that  I 
am  separate  from  all  others. 

But  what  is  self?  I cannot  say,  because 
I cannot  really  step  outside  my  self  to  ex- 
amine it  with  scientific  objectivity. 

My  sense  of  being  separate  is  very 
much  an  illusion,  because  in  truth  I am 
connected  to  every  other  creature  in  the 
universe.  I am  connected  by  my  depend- 
ence on  others  for  food,  by  the  air  we  all 
breathe,  by  the  water  that  is  the  biggest  part 
of  my  body.  I am  connected  by  my  sexual- 
ity, for  I am  only  half  of  a larger  whole.  I 
am  connected  by  being  planted  in  the  midst 
of  a human  society,  and  in  the  midst  an 
earthly  ecological  family. 

I will  never  forget  an  experience  I had 
while  sitting  in  a worship  circle  of  the  local 
Quaker  meeting,  week  after  week.  I 
watched  as  the  parents  of  little  one-year- 
old  Emily  came  into  take  their  seats.  She 
sat  on  her  mother’s  lap.  What  I saw  in  her 
face  and  eyes  as  she  looked  around  the  cir- 
cle was  classic  innocence.  She  was  totally 
un-self-conscious,  accepting  everything  as 
the  given. 

And  then  over  the  span  of  one  Sunday 
to  the  next,  something  happened.  I could 
see  in  her  face  a totally  new  expression. 
Self-consciousness  had  arrived  and  her 
eyes  darted  around  her  environment  with 
judgment,  with  questioning,  with  her 
emerging  sense  of  separateness. 

Emily  still  haunts  me. 

Because  our  self-consciousness  is  so 
fundamental  I find  I come  back  again  and 
again  to  explore  what  it’s  all  about — the 
positives  and  the  negatives. 

On  the  plus  side  it  is  clear  that  we  have 
the  capacity  to  think  rationally.  We  are 
able  to  solve  problems  logically.  With  our 


“Me- You”  perceptions  we  are  able  to  see 
differences:  “I  am  not  you.”  “This 

Washington  Delicious  apple  is  not  a Fuji 
apple.” 

On  the  negative  side,  self- 
consciousness  makes  us  vulnerable  to 
loneliness.  “Those  other  people  don’t 
like  me.”  In  feeling  our  separateness  we 
move  quickly  into  competitiveness.  “I’m 
going  to  become  a millionaire,  whether 
you  do  or  not.”  And  beyond  that,  in 
primitive  fashion,  we  are  even  willing  to 
see  “others”  as  enemies — and  kill  them. 

It  is  self-conscious  homo  sapiens 
who  indulges  in  murder  as  practically  no 
other  species  ever  does.  It  is  fundamen- 
tally our  self-conscious  separateness  that 
leads  us  into  being  war-makers. 

At  this  point  I have  to  nod  to  an  ulti- 
mate pessimism,  and  say  if  self- 
consciousness  is  all  we  have  to  live  with, 
then  planet  Earth  is  doomed. 

But  I do  not  take  sides  with  the  nega- 
tive because  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and 
Gautama  of  India  and  Lao  Tsu  of  China 
and  many  others  we  learn  from. 

This  is  the  why  I wrote  the  story  of 
Yeshua.  There  is  another  form  of  con- 
sciousness beyond  the  illusory,  limited 
self-consciousness  that  we  seem  to  be 
stuck  with. 

I like  to  call  it  cosmic  consciousness. 
It’s  180  degrees  different  from  self- 
consciousness. 

I don’t  know  whether  you  are  famil- 
iar with  a classic  book  that  was  first  pub- 
lished in  1901.  Richard  Maurice  Bucke 
wrote  under  that  title:  Cosmic  Conscious- 
ness. He  examined  the  lives  and  written 
stories  of  some  fifty  persons  who  exhib- 
ited the  new  special  characteristics  in  one 
way  or  another. 

As  I worked  on  the  story  of  Yeshua 
there  was  one  thing  above  all  else  I 
wanted  to  dramatize:  I wanted  readers  to 
see  Jesus  as  one  who  opened  a door 
through  which  all  of  humanity  could 
travel  at  last — leaving  self-conscious 
separateness  behind  and  entering  the  con- 
sciousness of  being  connected  to  every 
other  creature  in  the  universe. 

When  persons  are  ready  to  see  this 
new  option,  then  they  are  able  to  ex- 
change competition  for  love.  They  are 
able  to  serve  all  others  as  members  of  a 
loving  family. 

They  are  able  to  end  war  and  poverty 
and  disease  and  transform  planet  Earth. 

And  above  all  else  they  become 

(“Cosmic  Christ,  " continued  on  page  16) 


Page  12 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


Art  for  the  Sake 
of  Earthquake  Victims 

Palo  Alto  Quaker  Artist 
Pledges  to  Raise  $3,000 


In  January  and  February  2001,  El  Salvador  suffered 
devastating  earthquakes — the  worst  in  15  years — 
that  left  thousands  dead  and  a million  and  a half 
homeless  in  a country  the  size  of  the  greater  San  Fran- 
cisco area  (Santa  Rosa  to  Santa  Cruz). 

Tmdy  (“Myrrh”)  Reagan  of  Palo  Alto  (CA) 
Friends  Meeting  is  using  her  considerable  talents  as  an 
artist  to  raise  money  for  the  victims  of  this  tragedy. 

When  you  purchase  one  of  Trudy’s  paintings 
shown  on  this  page  or  at  her  website,  90%  of  the 
price  goes  to  earthquake  relief. 

You  will  receive  an  acknowledgment  for  your 
gift  from  the  Palo  Alto  Friends  (Quakers)  El  Salva- 
dor Project  for  tax  purposes. 

To  see  other  work  or  to  order  a t-shirt,  go  to 
http://www.myrrh-art.com/art.html. 


“ Kids  of  the  Camp ” 
$800 

plus  tax  and  shipping. 

Acrylic 
on  raw  plywood, 
20X38.  ” 
This  was  also  done 
in  1989. 


Contact  Tmdy  by  email:  tmdy. 
myrrh@stanfordalumni.org  Or  by  mail  at  Myrrh, 
967  Moreno,  Palo  Alto,  CA  94303. 


“Earth- 
quake 
Camp ” 

$1,000 
plus  tax 
and 

shipping. 
Acrylic 
on  raw 
plywood, 
34X48." 
This  was 
done  in 
1989,  of 
an  earth- 
quake 
camp 
after  the 
1986  San 
Salvador 
quake. 


Page  13 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


Quakers  and  the 
Theology  of  Light 

“For  once  you  were  darkness,  but  now  in  the  Lord  you  are 
light.  Live  as  children  of  the  light — for  the  fruit  of  the  light  is 
found  in  all  that  is  good  and  right  and  true.” — Ephesians 
5:8-9 

“What  has  come  into  being  in  him  was  life  and  the  life  was 
the  light  of  all  people.  The  light  shines  in  the  darkness,  and 
the  darkness  did  not  overcome  it.” — John  1:4-5 

“...With  the  light  your  minds  may  be  kept  up  to  God,  who  is 
Pure,  and  in  it  ye  may  all  have  unity  who  in  the  light  of  life 
do  walk.” — George  Fox  (Epistle  49) 


by  Peter  Anderson 
Crestone,  OR 

If  light  as  experienced  in  nature,  and  as 
revealed  in  scientific  investigation, 
were  anything  but  constant,  our  concep- 
tion of  the  universe  would  rest  on  shaky 
ground.  Ever  since  Einstein,  scientists 
have  relied  on  the  invariable  speed  of 
light  as  a standpoint  from  which  to  ob- 
serve the  universe. 

In  like  fashion,  great  seers'  and  think- 
ers throughout  history  have  looked  to  the 
nature  of  light  as  a way  of  describing  their 
vision  of  divinity.  George  Fox  and  the 
early  Quakers  were  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury manifestation  of  a long  line  of  seek- 
ers, including  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  the 
early  Gnostics,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas,  Dante,  and  Meister  Eckhart 
among  others,  who  referred  to  God  with 
the  image  of  light. 

Fox  based  his  understanding  of  God 
and  the  Light  on  his  own  experience  and 
on  the  words  that  he  found  in  the  scrip- 
tures of  the  New  Testament.  Early  Friends 
believed  that  the  Spirit  of  God  revealed  in 
scriptures  was  at  home  in  the  human  heart. 
It  was  more  important  to  listen  for  the  In- 
ward Spirit  that  guided  those  voices  heard 
in  scripture,  than  it  was  to  obey  the  Word 
as  law. 

That  isn’t  to  say  that  scripture  wasn’t 
important.  Scripture  provided  the  tradition 
and  the  context  for  understanding  one’s 

Peter  Anderson  is  an  isolated  Friend  liv- 
ing in  Crestone,  Colorado,  who  occasionally 
attends  meeting  in  Durango  or  Richmond, 
Indiana,  where  he  teaches  a writing  course 
(see  notice  on  p.  22). 


experience  of  God.  Along  with 
one’s  community  of  faith,  scrip- 
ture offered  a tradition  in  which 
one  might  assess  the  validity  of 
spiritual  experience.  It  also  pro- 
vided the  language  which  enabled 
George  Fox,  Robert  Barclay  and 
others  to  describe  their  experience 
of  the  Light  or  Holy  Spirit — an  experience, 
they  believed,  was  as  available  to  them  as  it 
had  been  in  Biblical  times. 

Early  Friends  found  plenty  of  evidence 
in  scripture  to  support  their  understanding 
of  God’s  presence  in  the  world.  Much  of  it 
came  from  John’s  Gospel.  John  spoke  of- 
ten of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  manifested  in 
Christ:  “When  the  Spirit  of  Truth  comes, 
he  will  guide  you  into  all  the  truth.”  And  he 
associated  that  Spirit  with  the  image  of 
light:  “The  true  light,  which  enlightens  eve- 
ryone was  coming  into  the  world.”  (John 
1:9).  The  relationship  John  establishes  be- 
tween the  Light  and  Christ  was  central  to 
the  beliefs  held  by  Fox  and  other  early 
Friends.  Theirs  was  a theology  that  cen- 
tered on  the  notion  of  the  Light  or  Christ 
Within.  It  was  a theology  that  began  with 
an  experience  of  that  Light:  “Now  the  Lord 
God  hath  opened  by  his  invisible  power 
how  that  every  man  was  enlightened  by  the 
divine  light  of  Christ,”  wrote  Fox,  “and  I 
saw  it  shine  through  all....”  It  was  only  after 
his  experience  of  the  Light  that  he  found  it 
in  scripture:  ‘This  I saw  in  the  pure  open- 
ings of  the  Light  without  the  help  of  any 
man,  neither  then  did  I know  where  to  find 
it  in  the  Scripture;  though  afterwards, 
searching  the  Scripture,  I found  it.” 

As  Robert  Barclay  points  out  in  his 
Apology,  John  1:9  was  so  central  to  Quaker 


Photo  by  Chris  Willard,  Tacoma  (WA ) Friends  Meeting 


belief,  and  so  often  referred  to  by  Quak- 
ers, that  it  was  known  as  the  Quaker  text. 
George  Fox  believed  that  this  Light,  de- 
scribed by  John  as  the  light  that 
“enlightens  everyone,”  was  a universal 
Light.  In  other  words,  there  was  that  of 
God  in  everyone.  Robert  Barclay  elabo- 
rates in  his  Apology:  “God  has  commu- 
nicated and  given  a measure  of  the  light 
of  his  own  Son,  a measure  of  grace,  or  a 
measure  of  the  Spirit  to  every  man.”  In 
Barclay’s  words,  one  hears  language  that 
is  at  once  Christ-centered  (“a  measure  of 
the  light  of  his  own  son”)  and  univer- 
salist  (“measure  of  the  Spirit  to  every 
man”).  Therein  lies  the  tension  that  many 
Friends  grapple  with  today. 

Another  source  of  the  Light,  as  un- 
derstood and  articulated  by  early 
Friends,  came  from  Paul’s  writings.  In 
Acts,  Paul  described  the  blinding  light 
that  he  encountered  on  the  road  to  Da- 
mascus. Christ  spoke  to  Paul  out  of  that 
light,  telling  him  to  lead  the  Gentiles 
“from  darkness  to  light....”  Fox  described 
his  own  revelations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as 
“an  ocean  of  light  and  love,  which 
flowed  over  the  ocean  of  darkness.” 

Fox’s  belief  that  this  Divine  Light, 
this  Light  of  Christ,  was  present  in  any- 
one regardless  of  their  religion,  culture, 
or  race,  was  a bold  statement  indeed,  one 


Page  14 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


that  immediately  raised  the  hackles  of  the 
religious  establishment  in  17th  century 
England.  He  wasn’t  suggesting  that  one 
could  possess  that  light.  It  would  have 
been  erroneous  to  think  of  oneself  as  hav- 
ing one’s  own  piece  of  the  Light,  because 
the  Light,  as  Fox  understood  it,  was  indi- 
visible. But  the  light  could  be  present  in 
different  measures  depending  on  one’s 
willingness,  openness,  and  faith.  It  was  as 
if  one  could  choose  to  move  toward  the 
center  of  a great  circle  from  which  the 
light  radiated.  One’s  position  with  respect 
to  that  center  determined  the  measure  of 
Light  in  one’s  life.  To  suggest  that  anyone 
could  experience  the  Divine  Light  of 
Christ  in  their  lives,  simply  by  opening 
themselves  up  and  moving  toward  it,  was 
nothing  short  of  heresy  to  those  Protes- 
tants who  believed  that  God’s  grace  was 
made  available  only  to  the  chosen  few. 

While  George  Fox  had  the  charisma 
to  gather  together  those  who  were  drawn 
to  an  experience  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  was 
Robert  Barclay  who  was  best  able  to  ex- 
plain the  theology  of  the  Light.  “A  divine 
light  or  seed  is  in  all  men,  and  that  divine, 
supernatural  light  or  seed  is  the  vehiculum 
Dei  in  which  God  and  Christ  dwell  and 
from  which  they  are  never  separated.  As 
this  light  or  seed  is  received  and  accepted 
in  the  heart,  Christ  takes  form  and  is 
brought  forth”  (Barclay,  p.  89). 

The  Light,  Barclay  explained,  was  a 
power  beyond  one’s  control.  It  was  be- 
yond one’s  capacity  for  reason.  Though 
the  Light  often  informed  one’s  con- 
science, it  also  transcended  it.  Here 
Barclay  called  on  his  poetic  abilities  as  a 
writer  to  make  the  relationship  clear: 

God  gave  two  lights  to  rule  the 
outward  world — the  sun  and  the 
moon — the  greater  light  to  rule  the 
day  and  the  lesser  light  to  rule  the 
night.  Similarly,  he  has  given  man  the 
light  of  his  Son  as  a spiritual  and  di- 
vine light  to  rule  him  in  things  spiri- 
tual, and  the  light  of  reason  to  rule  in 
things  natural.  And  even  as  the  moon 
borrows  her  light  from  the  sun,  so 
should  men  have  their  reason  enlight- 
ened by  this  divine  and  pure  light  if 
they  wish  to  be  correctly  and  ade- 
quately ordered  in  natural  matters 
(Barclay,  p.  91). 

A more  contemporary  perspective, 
that  of  Howard  Brinton,  allows  that  the 
kind  of  relationship  to  the  Light  which 
Barclay  describes  is  at  the  heart  of  Quaker 
theology.  One  can  “live  by  the  Light... by 


human  reason... or  at  the  mercy  of.. .sensual 
cravings....  Much  depends  on  their  rela- 
tionship. The  Light  of  Truth  should  be  a 
guide  to  reason  and  reason  should  help  in- 
stinct in  a properly  ordered  life”  (p.  51, 
Brinton). 

To  reorient  one’s  life  to  the  Divine 
Light  wasn’t,  by  any  means,  an  entirely 
pleasant  experience.  The  first  phase  of  that 
experience  often  involved  an  awakening  to 
one’s  own  shortcomings.  The  darkest  cor- 
ners of  one’s  life  were  exposed  and  exam- 
ined under  the  beam  of  a relentless  moral 
searchlight.  It  might  last  a day,  it  might  last 
a month,  it  might  last  for  years,  it  might  be 
an  ongoing  personal  inventory.  Eventually, 
the  same  Light  that  highlighted  those  weak- 
nesses, also  offered  one  the  strength  to 
walk  through  and  often  beyond  them.  It 
was  the  Light  that  led  one  down  the  path 
toward  righteousness.  The  Light  was  a 
guide,  not  only  through  the  canyons  of 
one’s  own  shortcomings,  but  also  toward 
the  summit  of  union  with  one  another  and 
with  God. 

Ironically,  “Light”  as  a way  of  describ- 

January  Moss 

by  Jeanne  Lohmann 
Olympia  (WA)  Friends  Meeting 

On  this  side  of  the  year 
when  the  sun  drifts  off  and  we  go  inside 
and  don’t  know  what  we’re  looking  for 
as  we  wait  for  light  and  watch  it 
passing,  if  a sign  could  find  us, 
a stab  of  wonder,  the  tinkering 
would  end, 

the  puzzling  disguises. 

Whatever  comes 
comes  out  of  the  tangle, 
out  of  this  bent  and  bending 
time,  these  precise  moments 
our  lives  are  made  of. 

For  all  we  know  if  we  wait, 
if  we  can,  the  nexus  will  hold  us, 
the  roots  consenting  to  change 
fragile  and  enduring 
as  moss  underfoot  greening 
in  the  wet  season 
another  cycle  of  weather. 


From  Jeanne  Lohmann’s  new 
book,  flying  horses. 


ing  divinity,  has  been  especially  useful 
because  of  its  inherent  ambiguity.  Light, 
unlike  God,  is  both  a noun  and  a verb.  It 
is  an  entity.  And  it  is  an  action.  The  term 
“Light”  is  wide  enough  in  its  meaning  not 
to  fence  in  one’s  notion  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Similarly,  in  associating  Christ  with 
the  Light,  Fox  and  other  early  Quakers 
were  describing  an  entity  and  an  action 
transcending  any  particular  person,  time, 
or  place.  Christ  as  “Inner  Light”  was  akin 
to  naming  Christ  as  the  Wisdom  embod- 
ied in  Jesus,  found  in  scripture,  found  in 
the  words  spoken  and  written  by  early 
Friends,  and  found  in  our  own  fives,  when 
we  are  open  and  ready  to  receive  it. 

Sources 

1)  George  Fox,  The  Journal  of  George  Fox 
(Ed.,  Rufus  M.  Jones) 

2)  Robert  Barclay,  Barclay’s  Apology  (Ed., 
Dean  Freiday) 

3)  Hugh  Barbour,  The  Quakers 

4)  Howard  Brinton,  Friends  for  300  Years 

5)  John  Punshon,  Portrait  in  Grey 

6)  Elton  Trueblood,  The  People  Called  Quakers. 


Photos  by  Chris  Willard,  Tacoma  (WA)  Meeting 


Page  15 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


("Cosmic  Christ,  " continued  from  page  12) 
aware  of  their  intimate  connection  with 
the  Creator  of  the  universe — their  partner- 
ship with  God. 

If  there  is  one  thing  in  Christian  doc- 
trine and  dogma  that  is  helpful  it  is  the 
idea  of  the  incarnation:  that  God  was  em- 
bodied in  a human  person;  that  “the  Word 
became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us.” 

The  one  big  trouble  with  the  dogma  is 
that  the  early  church  declared  Jesus  to  be 
the  only  son  of  God.  They  declared  that 
this  was  an  exclusive  relationship,  and 
that  all  that  other  persons  could  do  was  to 
believe  in  him,  and  that  through  faith  he 
would  then  save  them  from  this  sinful 
world. 

The  story  of  Yeshua,  therefore,  is  not 
only  about  one  person  and  certain  events 
in  the  First  Century  of  the  Christian  era.  It 
is  about  all  centuries  and  especially  this, 
our  21st  Century.  It’s  about  the  pilgrim- 
age we  all  of  us  need  to  make  if  the  crisis 
of  planet  Earth  is  to  be  transcended. 

I hear  a good  deal  of  pessimism  to- 


day, that  we  may  not  make  it  in  time,  but  I 
find  a lot  of  encouragement  in  the  writing 
of  Paul  Ray  and  Sherry  Anderson  who  tell 
a new  story  in  their  book,  Cultural  Cre- 
atives. 

They  did  a major  survey  of  American 
attitudes  toward  life,  contacting  100,000 
people,  and  they  came  up  with  a classifi- 
cation. Out  in  the  far  right,  as  you  might 
expect,  were  the  Traditionals.  They  were 
the  ones  who  were  sure  they  had  the  only 
right  answers.  “If  you  come  and  join  us 
you  will  be  saved.  If  not  you  will  be  lost.” 
They  accounted  for  about  28  percent  of 
the  total. 

In  the  middle  were  the  Modems, 
about  46  percent,  who  are  the  ones  will- 
ing to  go  with  the  tide — whatever  is  the 
current  way  of  doing  things. 

And  then  out  in  far  left  were  the  Cul- 
tural Creatives,  who  are  the  people  out  on 
the  frontier — doing  the  best  they  can  to 
find  new  and  better  ways.  They  are  indi- 
viduals and  small  groups  who  are  innova- 
tors and  working  in  their  daily  lives  to 


face  the  big  problems  of  planet  Earth. 
They  work  to  rescue  the  environment,  to 
end  war,  to  promote  equality  for  women, 
to  care  for  children,  to  end  consumerism, 
to  bridge  the  wealth-poverty  abyss,  to  de- 
velop spirituality,  and  a dozen  other  ur- 
gent needs.  They  number  about  26  per- 
cent. 

What  is  most  exciting  is  when  we 
translate  that  percentage  into  population 
we  get  50  million  people. 

These  are  the  threshold  people  who  in 
varying  degrees  have  experienced  Cosmic 
Consciousness — who  are  aware  of  our 
total  interconnectedness — who  are  making 
a difference. 

Isn’t  it  time  for  us  to  get  together? 

What  I want  to  say  finally  is,  it  is  my 
hope  that  the  story  of  Yeshua  will  help 
readers  to  see  the  next  step — and  to  stride 
forward  into  the  new  world  that  is  to  be. 
To  follow  where  Jesus  led. 

This  is  not  a new  belief  system.  It’s 
an  invitation  to  make  the  next  step  in  evo- 
lution. □ 


Notices  and  Announcements 


LEARN  ABOUT  THE  UN  AT  THE  UN: 
Quaker  United  Nations  Summer  School,  7-19 
July  2002,  Geneva,  Switzerland.  Do  you  have 
an  active  interest  in  international  affairs?  Would 
you  appreciate  studying  the  UN  at  first  hand?  Do 
you  want  to  meet  people  from  all  over  the  world? 
Are  you  aged  20-26?  Yes?. . . Then  write  today 
for  an  application  pack  to:  Julian  Hodgkin 

(QUNSS),  Friends  House,  Euston  Rd,  London, 
NW1  2BJ,  UK.  Email:  julianh@quaker.org.uk 
Find  out  more:  www.quno.org 


A call  to  join  Pacific  Northwest  Quar- 
terly Meeting’s  Silent  Retreat.  Each  win- 
ter, Pacific  Northwest  Quarterly  Meeting 
hosts  a Silent  Retreat  at  Camp  Huston  in  Gold 
Bar,  WA.  We  gather  Friday  evening  for  din- 
ner and  socialization,  then  settle  into  silence 
until  the  rise  of  Meeting  on  Sunday.  We  pre- 
pare simple  communal  meals,  hold  several 
Meetings  for  Worship,  hike,  read  and  spend 
time  in  the  woods.  Out  of  the  silence  grows  a 
sense  of  community  deepened  by  the  lack  of 
distraction  and  chatter,  one  which  calls  at- 
tendee back  year  after  year.  Many  have  con- 
tributed to  communal  journals,  which  attest  to 
the  variety  of  experiences  found  within  the 
silence.  Some  report  rapture,  renewal,  or  the 
ability  to  face  chronic  difficulties,  while  oth- 
ers write  of  discomfort  or  boredom.  But  what- 
ever the  experience,  Silent  Retreat  provides  a 
deepening  of  our  spirits  and  draws  us  back 
again  and  again.  Won’t  you  join  us?  Contact: 
Nancy  Ewert,  3 6 0-468-3764, 
ngewert@rockisland.com.  Friday,  January 
25th  through  Sunday,  January  27th,  2002 
Camp  Huston,  Gold  Bar,  WA. 


Quaker  Press  of  FGC  to  publish  book 
on  Friends  of  African  Descent.  We  seek 
the  names  of  Friends  to  be  considered  for  in- 
clusion in  the  upcoming  Quaker  Press  of  FGC 
publication  “Friends  of  African  Descent.” 
Please  send  suggestions  with  a few  lines  of 
information — approximate  age  or  birth/death 
dates,  Meeting  membership  or  attendance, 
contribution  to  Quakerism  and/or  to  the  wider 
world  and  how  you  can  be  contacted.  One  of 
the  book's  co-editors  (Donna  McDaniel  or 
Vanessa  Julye)  will  contact  you.  Send  the  in- 
formation to:  Barbara  Hirshkowitz,  FGC,  1216 
Arch  Street,  2B,  Philadelphia,  PA  19107,  or 
E-mail:  barbarah@fgcquaker.org. 


Ben  Lomond  Quaker  Center  Year- 
End  Retreat.  Dec  27,  2001  - Jan  1,  2002. 
“Spiritual  Monogamy:  Deepening  our  Quaker 
Experience.”  Bob  Schmitt.  For  more  infor- 
mation, contact:  831-336-8333. 
«mail@quakercenter.org»  Ben  Lomond 
Quaker  Center,  PO  Box  686,  Ben  Lomond, 
CA  95005. 


Free  Books! 

Numerous  books  are  sitting  on  the  Friends 
Bulletin  shelf,  awaiting  a reviewer  (you  can 
see  a partial  list  at  http://www.members.aol. 
com/ferdinandpinata/freebooks.html)  If  you’d 
like  to  write  reviews  (and  thereby  receive  a 
“free”  book),  please  contact  the  editor  at 
friendsbul@aol.com  or  at  5238  Andalucia  Ct, 
Whittier,  CA  90601.  Please  indicate  what  ex- 
perience you’ve  had  in  reviewing  books  and 
what  book(s)  you’d  like  to  review.  Also,  if 
you’d  like  to  review  a book  that  you  think 
would  be  of  interest  to  Friends,  and  it’s  not  on 
the  list,  please  contact  the  editor  and  he  will 
help  arrange  for  you  to  receive  a review  copy 
from  a publisher.  (You’ll  need  to  find  the  pub- 
lisher’s address.) 


Western  Young  Friends  New  Year’s 
Gathering  will  be  held  at  Camp  Myrtlewood 
in  Oregon  from  the  28th  of  December  through 
the  2nd  of  January.  Registration  is  SI 20,  and 
should  be  sent  to  the  registrar,  Martin  Edwards 
at:  NYG  Registrar,  239  Zinfandel  Road,  Healds- 
burg,  CA  95488.  707-431-2713.  EagleEye- 
Lite@netscape.net.  Scholarships  are  available. 
For  general  information,  especially  questions 
regarding  rides,  contact  Michael  Eastwood: 
Phone:  651-696-7185 
E-mail:  «meastwood@macalester.edu.» 

The  WYF  New  Year’s  Gathering  is  multi- 
generational,  and  open  to  all  ages.  The  work  of 
the  Gathering,  including  meal  preparation,  child 
care,  and  workshop  facilitation,  is  shared  by  all 
participants.  WYF  conducts  enough  business  to 
care  for  each  other  during  the  Gathering,  create 
an  epistle,  and  ensure  the  planning  of  the  next 
Gathering. 


Quaker  Books  can  be  ordered  through: 

Friends  General  Conference 

1216  Arch  St  #2B 

Philadelphia,  PA  19107 

Phone:  215-561-1700.  Fax:  215-561-0759 

Website:  http://www.fgcquaker.org . 

Pendle  Hill  Bookstore 
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800-742-3150 

http://www.pendlehill.org/bookstore.html 

Quaker  Hill  Bookstore 
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Richmond,  IN  47374 
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800-537-8838 
http://www.books@xc.org 


Page  16 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


Moments  of  Everyday 
Ecstasy  Bring  Us 
Closer  to  God 

by  Robert  Murphy 

Sheridan  (MT)  Friends  Meeting 

As  my  wife/ 
partner 
Georgia  Foster 
leaves  on  an  er- 
rand, I stand  in  the 
kitchen,  in  one  of 
those  moments  of 
joy  in  her  that  are 
becoming  ever 
more  frequent, 
over  the  years.  I 
know  that  were  it 
to  sweep  wholly 
over  me,  I would  find  it  overwhelming. 
Toward  that  end,  I sit  down  and  wait  for  it 
to  grow  stronger.  It  doesn’t.  But  it  was 
unmistakably  there  for  a moment.  It  is  a 
breath  of  pure  love:  the  presence  of  God. 

Later  this  afternoon,  we  may  be  yell- 
ing about  something  at  each  other.  But 
that  moment  of  perfection  underlies  our 
lives.  And  each  year  these  gifts  of  joy  in 
Georgia,  in  wildflowers,  in  almost  any 
part  of  creation,  come  more  often. 

Today  I had  the  wisdom — which  I 
don’t  always— to  stop  everything  and  pay 
attention  to  it.  That  is  what  I call  practic- 
ing the  presence  of  God.  The  late  Abra- 
ham Maslow  wrote  that  we  all  too  easily 
“brush  these  small  mystical  experiences 
aside.”  By  resolutely  not  doing  so,  by  de- 
liberately paying  attention  to  them,  we 
open  ourselves  to  grace,  which  is  God. 

“This  is  the  greatest  of  all  discover- 
ies.... This  is  the  answer  to  a lifetime  of 
longing  ...  the  source  of  overwhelming 
joy.”  (Roger  Walsh,  M.D.) 

As  I practice  the  presence  of  God  and 
live  more  wholly  in  this  world,  I feel 
strong  and  my  mental  functions  are  all 
humming.  I write  this  editorial  easily,  the 
words  falling  without  effort  onto  the  pa- 
per. 

God  also  inhabits  our  bodies.  If  my 
joy  in  Georgia  had  become  ecstasy,  my 
breath,  my  heartbeat,  sexuality,  diges- 
tion— everything — would  have  been  func- 
tioning at  top  efficiency. 

If  my  hay  fever  had  been  kicking  up. 


I know  from  experience  that  it  would  sud- 
denly disappear:  no  more  itching,  no  red 
eyes,  no  more  runny  nose,  leaving  all  my 
mucous  membranes  moist  and  healthy. 
But  I wouldn’t  be  aware  of  that  change 
until  later,  for  my  attention  would  have 
been  consumed  by  the  sense  of  perfection 
in  which  I was  finding  myself. 

Afterward  I would  think:  how  aston- 
ishing; my  hay  fever  is  gone!  (It  will  dig 
itself  back  into  my  unwilling  body,  after  a 
while.)  Physical  health,  in  these  moments, 
is  at  its  peak,  and  the  more  such  moments 
we  have,  the  healthier  our  bodies  become. 
(At  85,  my  health  peak  is  not  that  of  a 40- 
year-old,  but  it  is  the  best  health  for  me.) 
“God  is  thoroughly,  unabashedly  incar- 
nate. The  spiritual  journey  is  so  physical  it 
makes  me  dizzy”  (Elizabeth  J.  Andrew). 

Following  these  peak  moments  my 
brain  is  in  good  shape.  I think  things 
through  easily,  and  pay  attention  without 
losing  my  focus  to  the  usual  jumble  of 
mental  imagery. 

Practicing  the  presence  of  God  is 
simply  a matter  of  practice:  taking  time  to 
dwell  on  peak  moments — like  mine  in  the 
kitchen  this  morning — in  which  we  and 
the  world  Make  Sense,  moments  in  which 
for  a few  seconds  or  longer  we  want  noth- 
ing more:  more  money,  fame,  admiration, 
more  anything. 

I often  find  that  these  events  are  so 
mild  that  I hardly  notice  them.  But  prac- 
tice keeps  us  sensitive  to  the  presence  of 
God,  even  when  that  presence  is  barely 
perceptible.  Here  is  an  example. 

We  had  a 9-month-old  baby  here  last 
night.  She  crawled  deliberately  around  our 
living  room,  occasionally  flopping  back 
onto  her  bottom  to  survey  the  world,  then 
going  down  on  hands  and  knees  again, 
exploring  with  mgged  independence  her 
new  environment. 

Except  when  she  headed  for  our  hot 
wood  stove,  her  father  let  her  be.  I 
watched  a long  time  as  she  tested — mostly 
with  her  mouth — the  nature  of  each  new 
object.  I saw  that  exploring,  for  that  hour 
or  two,  was  her  entire  life’s  purpose 

Although  I was  keenly  interested,  I 
wasn’t  particularly  excited.  But  behind 
that  interest  lies  ecstasy:  the  presence  of 
God.  The  more  we  practice  these  mo- 
ments, the  closer  we  approach  to  the  di- 
vine beauty  of  life.  Then  we  live  caring 
for  others,  relating  generously  to  our 
world-around,  thinking  more  clearly,  and 
we  find  more  courage  to  stand  against, 
find  alternatives  to,  our  banning  of  this 


planet  and  of  each  other. 

“The  word  of  God  resides  in  each  of 
us,  it  dwells  among  us,  full  of 
grace”  (Elizabeth  Andrew  again).  □ 


Reviews 


Jesus  Untouched  by  the  Church:  Teach- 
ings in  the  Gospel  of  Thomas,  by  Hugh 
McGregor  Ross.  Sessions,  York,  England, 
1998;  hardback;  133  pages;  $28.00.  Re- 
viewed by  Nicholas  Dewey,  Santa  Barbara 
(CA)  Friends  Meeting. 

The  story  of  how  the  gospel  attributed 
to  the  disciple,  Didymus  Jude  Thomas, 
came  to  be  discovered  is  now  well  known, 
but  will  bear  repetition:  it  was  found  ser- 
endipitously  among  several  other  volumes 
of  papyri  in  1945,  at  a place  called  Nag 
Hamadi  in  upper  Egypt. 

It  is  thought  to  have  come  from  a li- 
brary used  by  a Gnostic  community  late  in 
the  fourth,  or  early  in  the  fifth  century 
CE*,  and  is  written  in  Coptic.  Dating  the 
origin  of  its  creation  is  more  problematical 
but  the  earliest  version  (in  Greek)  was 
most  likely  composed  in  the  middle  of  the 
second  century  CE  and  based  on  even 
older  sources. 

The  gospel  comprises  some  114 
“Sayings  of  Jesus,”  many  of  which  corre- 
late with  passages  in  the  Synoptic  books  of 
Matthew,  Luke  and  Mark.  But  the  real  in- 
terest lies  in  those  which  are  altogether 
new,  original  and  esoteric  in  character,  the 
most  familiar  being  perhaps: 
“Cleave  a piece  of  wood,  I am  there;  lift 
up  a stone  and  you  will  find  me  there.” 

There  have  been  a number  of  edited 
translations  since  the  discovery  of  the  co- 
dex, most  notably  that  of  the  Dutch 
scholar,  Gilles  Quispel,  and  his  colleagues, 
who  published  the  Coptic  text  alongside 
the  English.  British  Friend  Hugh  McGre- 
gor Ross  follows  this  pattern,  providing 
the  added  pleasure  of  printing  the  Coptic 
with  a beautiful  calligraphic  font,  designed 
specially  for  this  edition. 

His  added  commentary  (the 
“Teachings”  of  his  title),  although  some- 
what shorter  than  one  might  wish,  and  un- 
even in  depth,  should  appeal  to  Friends  for 
its  fresh  and  stimulating  focus  on  the 
meaning  of  Jesus’  words  and  for  the  light 
that  it  throws  on  dark  corners  of  our  un- 
derstanding. 

As  Elaine  Pagels  has  pointed  out  in 


"■Common  Era  = A.D. 


Page  17 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


The  Gnostic  Gospels,  that  which  is  attrib- 
uted to  Thomas  is  one  of  several  apocry- 
phal works  that  would  seem  to  have  chal- 
lenged the  whole  credal  structure  of  ortho- 
dox Christianity  during  its  early  centuries. 
As  his  main  title  implies,  Hugh  McGregor 
Ross  has  taken  up  this  same  challenge 
more  than  1,500  years  later,  and  pays  gen- 
erous dividends  to  his  readers  for  having 
invested  so  many  years  of  his  life  in 
studying  this  fascinating  topic.  [This  book 
is  quite  difficult  to  find,  and  may  have  to 
be  ordered  through  the  British  Bookstore 
at  http://www.quaker.  org.  ukJbookshop. 

— Editor.] 

Rufus  Jones:  A Luminous  Life.  Reviewed 
by  Phyllis  Jones  (member  Redding  (CA) 
Meeting,  now  attending  Vassalboro,  ME). 

The  video  and  a study  guide  entitled 
“A  Rufus  Jones  Companion”  can  be  ob- 
tained from  Wellesley  Monthly  Meeting 
of  Friends,  26  Benvenue  Street, 
Wellesley,  MA  02482.  The  cost  is  ten 
dollars  for  each. 

During  the  summer  of  2001  a new 
video  was  premiered  at  New  England 
Yearly  Meeting.  It  depicts  the  life  of 
Rufus  Jones  (1863-1948)  who  is  de- 
scribed on  the  jacket  as  an  “eminent  histo- 
rian of  mysticism,  teacher  of  philosophy, 
religious  reformer  and  healer  of  schisms, 
leader  of  the  American  Friends  Service 
Committee,  exponent  of  Quaker  service  to 
mankind  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  prolific 
author,  compelling  speaker.” 

I first  viewed  the  video  when  Vassal- 
boro (ME)  Quarterly  Meeting  held  its  Fall 
Gathering  at  China  Lake,  where  Rufus 
Jones  grew  up.  Paul  and  Margaret  Cates 
of  the  local  meeting  describe  on  the  video 
their  memories  of  Rufus  at  Haverford 
College,  and  other  well-known  Quakers 
are  also  interviewed. 

Rufus  Jones  was  bom  at  a time  when 
Hicksite  Quakers  were  ostracized  and  Or- 
thodox members  were  split  into  Gumeyite 
and  Wilburite  factions.  After  years  of 
strict  adherence  to  Quaker  regulations 
about  marrying  outside  the  society,  wear- 
ing traditional  garb,  using  “plain”  speech, 
etc.  a renewal  movement  had  begun.  By 
1870  few  Friends  were  disowned  for  dis- 
ciplinary reasons  and  anachronisms  were 
being  swept  away. 

In  the  1870s  the  holiness  movement 
and  revival  meetings  created  a new  cli- 
mate within  American  Quakerism,  which 
eventually  led  to  differences  we  see  today. 
Divisions  became  so  strong  that  some 


Friends  considered  those  who  believed  in 
the  Inner  Light  to  be  heretics.  But  be- 
tween the  revivalists  and  Conservative 
Friends  were  heirs  of  the  renewal  move- 
ment, moderates  like  Rufus  Jones  and  Joel 
Bean.  (A  valuable  book  for  understanding 
these  movements  is  Thomas  D.  Hamm’s 
The  Transformation  of  American  Quaker- 
ism: Orthodox  Friends,  1800-1907.) 

Rufus  Jones  attempted  to  bring 
Friends  of  differing  persuasions  together 
and  was  a beloved  teacher  at  Haverford 
College.  The  video  includes  many  stories 
told  by  him  and  others,  including  the  ac- 
count of  his  well-known  meeting  with  the 
Gestapo  just  before  World  War  II.  For 
me,  the  combination  of  the  Jones  video 
and  the  Hamm  book  have  brought  a new 
understanding  of  Quakerism  outside  of 
Pacific  Yearly  Meeting. 

Yeshua:  Seeing  God  Through  the  Eyes  of 
His  Child.  Herb  Dimock.  2001;  284  pp; 
paper.  $11.85.  Sterling  House  Publishers 
Inc.  Pittsburgh,  PA  15200.  Review  by 
Lois  Barton,  Eugene  (OR)  Meeting. 

This  novel  by  Grass  Valley  (CA) 
Friend  Herb  Dimock  introduces  Yeshua 
as  a ten  year  old  whose  mother  tells  him 
of  her  dream  that  he  is  to  be  the  Messiah. 
The  rest  of  the  book  plausibly  portrays 
experiences  that  this  unusual  Jewish  boy 
had  in  each  of  his  years  from  ten  to 
twenty-nine,  describing  school,  family 
life,  village  scenes,  travels,  personal  rela- 
tionships and  the  boy’s  hungry  search  for 
an  answer  to  his  mother’s  dream. 

Biblical  quotes  from  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments provide  the  background  on  which  to 
create  a sense  of  familiar  reality  in  the 
author’s  imaginative  development  of  the 
story.  Political  conflicts,  Zealots,  Roman 
soldiers,  Samaritans,  Essenes,  healing 
events,  Mary  the  harlot:  biblical  stories  are 
there  in  suitable  order.  In  the  final  chapter 
Yeshua  is  baptized  by  John  in  the  River  Jor- 
dan and  finally  understands  his  role. 

This  is  a well-crafted,  absorbing  story 
that  moves  forward  convincingly.  It  follows 
biblical  messianic  prophecies  closely,  result- 
ing in  a final  product  that  should  not  be 
theologically  offensive  to  orthodox  Chris- 
tians. A young  reader  may  be  stimulated  to 
study  Jesus’  adult  ministry  more  closely. 
Recommended  for  Meeting  libraries  and  as  a 
possible  study  text  for  teen  Sunday  school 
classes. 

Resistance  and  Obedience  to  God:  The 
Memoirs  of  David  Ferns  (1707-1779). 
Edited  by  Martha  Paxson  Grundy. 


Reviewed  by  Elizabeth  Boardman,  San 
Francisco  (CA)  Meeting. 

This  book  should  be  in  every  Meeting 
library.  The  memoirs  will  speak  to  the 
condition  of  many  Friends.  So  many  of 
the  issues  we  grapple  with  now  were  part 
of  the  life  experience  of  this  Friend,  who 
lived  some  nine  generations  ago,  in  the 
days  when  Quakers  were  much  more  visi- 
ble, and  more  reviled,  than  now. 

Like  many  Friends  today,  David 
Ferns  made  radical  decisions  as  a college 
student  which  had  serious  effects  on  the 
rest  of  his  career.  Part  of  a radical  group 
of  Yale  students  who  developed  strong 
concerns  about  aspects  of  the  faith  and 
practice  in  their  Presbyterian  community, 
Davis  Ferns  ultimately  dropped  out  of 
college  just  short  of  graduating,  so  that 
“poverty  and  disgrace  stared  (him)  in  the 
face.”  A near-death  experience  had  a role 
in  his  decision.  He  was  accused  of  being  a 
heretic  and  a Quaker,  and  thus  turned  to 
Barclay  for  some  kind  of  support.  His 
chapter  about  this  period  is  eloquent  and 
poignant  indeed. 

Like  Friends  today,  David  Ferns  was 
soon  to  learn  that  being  a radical  leader  in 
youth  could  have  economic  consequences 
in  latter  life.  Having  foregone  the  security 
of  family  property  and  connections,  and 
constantly  refining  his  ethical  sensibilities, 
David  Ferns  tried  his  hand  at  a number  of 
livelihoods  and  moved  constantly  west 
during  his  adult  years.  From  his  stories, 
one  obtains  an  interesting  picture  of 
Quaker  lives  in  those  decades. 

Like  some  lucky  Friends  today, 
David  went  through  these  experiences 
with  a good  wife — but  not  the  woman  he 
had  thought  he  preferred. 

The  first  time  he  set  out  to  court  a 
well-heeled  and  pretty  young  woman,  he 
heard,  as  he  tells  it,  “something  like  a still 
small  voice  saying  to  me,  ‘Seekest  thou 
great  things  for  thyself? — seek  them  not.’ 
This  language  pierced  me  like  a sword... 
so  that  I was  unfit  for  any  further  conver- 
sation and... soon  took  my  leave.” 

He  was  so  mortified  by  this  experi- 
ence that  he  visited  no  young  ladies  at  all 
for  many  months  until  one  day,  at  a 
friend’s  dinner  table,  as  he  glanced  at  a 
plain  young  woman  he  did  not  know 
across  the  table,  he  again  received  guid- 
ance. “A  language,  very  quietly  and  pleas- 
antly passed  through  my  mind,  on  this 
wise:  If  thou  wilt  marry  that  young 
woman,  thou  shalt  be  happy  with  her.” 

When  the  party  arose  from  the  table, 


Page  18 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


David  saw  that  the  girl  was  lame,  and 
“was  displeased  that  I should  have  a crip- 
ple allotted  to  me.”  He  reports  how  he 
struggled  with  this  matter  for  many 
months  before  they  married,  and  how, 
forty  years  later,  he  thinks  of  this  “union 
as  a proof  of  divine  kindness.” 

Others  along  with  David  Ferns  have 
learned  that  ecstatic  religious  experiences 
in  one’s  youth  do  not  necessarily  lead  to 
spiritual  serenity  thereafter.  Traumatized 
by  the  family  and  social  response  to  his 
leaving  the  Presbyterian  church,  Ferris 
suffered  for  twenty  years  with  frequent 
leadings  to  speak  in  Meeting  for  Worship 
which  he  then  resisted  for  fear  of  appear- 
ing foolish  or  inadequate. 

His  descriptions  of  this  grueling  inner 
conflict  will  be  gratifying  to  any  reader 
who  knows  this  problem  personally.  It 
was  a visiting  friend  who  finally  released 
him  in  1755.  She  was  a woman  of  acute 
intuition  named  Comfort  Hoag,  who 
asked  him  gently  after  Meeting  two  days 
in  a row,  “David,  why  didst  thou  not 
preach  today?”  The  second  time,  he  con- 
fessed to  her  his  trouble  of  two  decades, 
and  on  the  third  day,  with  Comfort  nearby 
in  meeting,  he  finally  “trembled  like  a 
leaf... and  was  raised  on  (his)  feet”  to 
speak  for  the  first  time  in  twenty  years. 


Afterwards  Comfort  Hoag  told  him  that 
during  the  silence,  “her  whole  concern 
was  on  (his)  account... such  that  she  was 
willing  to  offer  up  her  natural  life  to  the 
Lord,  if  it  might  be  a means  to  bring  (him) 
forth  in  the  ministry.”  Just  as  she  made 
this  offer  to  God,  he  stood  to  speak. 

David  Ferris  became  a recorded  min- 
ister and  traveled  in  the  ministry  exten- 
sively with  others,  horseback  trips  of 
three,  four,  and  five  months,  visiting 
Friends  Meetings  and  other  congrega- 
tions. But  after  three  or  four  years,  when 
he  was  about  fifty,  there  came  another  dry 
spell  when  he  did  not  speak,  and  rarely 
seemed  to  hear  any  divine  messages.  “I 
was  reduced  very  low,  and  great  distress 
attended  my  mind.  I was  often  ready  to 
say,  “Is  God’s  mercy  quite  gone?  Will  he 
be  favourable  no  more?”  I went  mourning 
on  my  way.  ...None  can  conceive  with 
what  horror  and  anxiety  I was  attended, 
unless  they  have  been  tried  with  similar 
desertion.” 

Whether  his  was  a bio-chemical  de- 
pression or  a “dark  night  of  the  soul”  or 
both,  others  have  known  the  experience 
and  will  be  glad  to  leam  that  in  his  last 
years,  David  Ferris  found  some  quiet 
sense  of  satisfaction  and  peace. 

Other  Friends  besides  Ferris  have 


been  energetic  parents,  pioneers,  and  so- 
cial reformers  while  struggling  with  secret 
personal  doubts  and  dismay.  The  memoirs 
in  this  new  volume  tell  of  the  inner  conflict, 
while  the  letters  testify  to  Ferris’  bold  will- 
ingness to  take  others  to  task  for  keeping 
slaves. 

Friends  interested  in  Quaker  history  will 
find  Martha  Paxson  Grundy’s  introduction 
and  historical  footnotes  very  helpful.  Editor 
of  this  edition  of  the  memoirs,  which  came 
out  this  year,  Grundy  connects  Ferris  to  the 
many  well-known  Quakers  of  this  period, 
and  to  others  in  his  family  and  Meetings. 
Grundy  has  also  presented  study  notes  and 
queries  which  will  spark  lively  discussions  in 
adult  religious  education  venues. 

For  example:  “When... Ferris  opened  a 
school... he  was  at  first  short  of  cash.  His  way 
of  dealing  with  this  was  to  “repose  with  con- 
fidence in  an  all-sufficient  Providence.”  He 
did  not  ask  for  help,  but  anonymous  dona- 
tions appeared. 

“How  do  we  react  to  his  seeming  pas- 
sivity in  the  face  of  need?...  How  does  it  feel 
to  be  a receiver?  A giver?” 

A chronology,  a comprehensive  bibli- 
ography and  an  index  complete  this  very 
well  presented  story  of  a seeker  three  hun- 
dred years  ago  whose  concerns  are  familiar 
to  us  now.  □ 


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Page  19 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


Memorial  Minutes 


Emily  Burns 

Emily  Hoepfeer  Bums  of  Salem  (OR) 
Friends  Meeting  was  bom  April  22, 
1905,  in  Metuchen,  NJ,  and  died  January  17, 
2001,  in  Winlock  WA,  at  the  age  of  95.  She 
was  the  second  of  nine  siblings  bom  to  immi- 
grant parents  from  Germany  and  Switzerland. 
Her  father,  who  at  1 5 came  to  the  US  on  a sail- 
ing ship,  became  a noted  architectural  sculptor. 

Emily  worked  during  the  1920s  as  a 
Physical  Education  teacher,  and  was  a member 
of  the  Denishawn  Modem  Dance  Company  in 
New  York  City.  In  1929  she  married  Walter 
Hahn;  he  passed  away  in  1947,  after  which  she 
moved  to  Salt  Lake  City,  UT.  In  1957  she  mar- 
ried Donald  M.  Biffins.  They  lived  in  Salt  Lake 
City  until  1978,  when  they  moved  to  Salem. 
Don  died  in  1996. 

Emily  first  became  involved  with  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends  in  Chappaqua,  NY,  and  later 
was  active  in  Salt  Lake  City  Meeting.  She  and 
Don  spent  two  years  as  hosts  at  the  Casa  de  los 
Amigos  in  Mexico  City  after  Don’s  retirement. 
To  prepare  for  this  assignment  they  took  an 
intensive  8-hour  a day  Berlitz  immersion  class 
in  Spanish.  After  they  moved  to  Salem  she 
transferred  her  membership,  and  was  active  in 
Salem  Friends  Meeting  until  her  health  began 
to  decline.  She  contributed  to  the  Meeting  in  a 
variety  of  ways,  including  working  with  the 
children’s  program  and  serving  a term  as  Clerk. 
Emily  was  a generous  and  caring  person,  com- 
mitted to  practicing  her  religious  values.  She 
was  involved  in  a number  of  other  organiza- 
tions, including  the  Fellowship  of  Reconcilia- 
tion and  Church  Women  United,  and  took  part 
in  a visiting  program  at  the  women’s  prison  in 
Salem.  Emily  is  survived  by  her  daughter  Heidi 
Klein  of  Bozeman,  MT,  son  Walter  Hahn  of 
Irvine,  CA,  a sister  Hera  Bruhn  of  Salem,  and 
three  brothers.  Emily  and  Don’s  ashes  were 
combined  in  the  planting  of  a rose  bush  in  their 
memory  at  a cemetery  in  Irvine,  CA.  □ 

Ruth  Dart  Smith 

Ruth  Dart  Smith  passed  away  on  June  10, 
2001  at  Mt.  San  Antonio  Gardens  in 
Pomona,  CA,  after  a valiant  struggle  with  can- 
cer. She  was  bom  in  Southern  Rhodesia  (now 
Zimbabwe)  Africa.  Her  father  was  an  industrial 
missionary  in  the  Mt.  Salinda  Mission  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions.  In  1918  the  family  moved  to  the  Don 
K Mission  in  Angola  including  her  brothers, 
Francis  and  Leonard,  and  later,  John.  In  1927 
she  was  sent  to  the  US  for  schooling.  She 
graduated  from  Oberlin  College  in  1936  and 
after  additional  studies  at  the  University  of 
Chicago,  she  was  employed  as  a social  worker 
in  North  Carolina. 

In  1938  she  married  Harvey  Smith,  a for- 


ester. They  moved  to  Madison,  WI  in  1942  and 
then  to  Berkeley,  CA  in  1948.  It  was  there  that 
they  joined  and  became  active  in  the  Berkeley 
Friends  Meeting. 

Their  house  which  they  designed  and  built 
became  a favorite  place  for  Quaker  and  other 
social  gatherings.  Their  warm  hospitality  made 
it  a welcoming  place  with  many  gatherings 
around  the  dinner  table  or  discussions  in  front 
of  the  fireplace. 

Ruth  was  interested  in  all  aspects  of  life. 
Whenever  she  needed  some  skill  she  would  sign 
up  for  a class  or  study  it  on  her  own  until  she 
was  proficient.  In  this  way  she  became  an  excel- 
lent seamstress  and  made  the  architectural  de- 
signs for  their  house.  At  the  Ben  Lomond 
Quaker  Center,  she  designed  the  Art  Building 
and  much  of  the  Casa  de  Luce.  When  her  two 
children  were  small  she  became  involved  in  the 
local  nursery  schools  and  continued  on  as  a 
teacher  there  for  ten  years.  She  was  active  in 
Pacific  Yearly  Meeting  where  she  was  in  charge 
of  the  children’s  program  for  three  years. 

After  Harvey  retired  in  1972  they  often 
went  to  Hawaii,  were  active  in  the  Honolulu 
Friends  Meeting,  sometime  changing  houses 
with  Hawaii  Friends  for  a month  or  so.  In  1992 
they  moved  to  the  retirement  community,  Mt. 
San  Antonio  Gardens,  in  Pomona,  CA.  They 
transferred  their  membership  to  the  Claremont 
Friends  Meeting.  Ruth  was  very  active  in  atten- 
dance and  in  committee  work  until  her  illness 
prevented  it. 

Ruth  will  be  remembered  by  her  many, 
many  friends,  for  her  graciousness,  helpfulness 
and  her  wonderful  sense  of  humor.  She  is  sur- 
vived by  her  husband  Harvey;  their  son,  Sandy, 
his  family,  Ginny  and  Mac;  her  granddaughter, 
Sara;  her  brothers,  John  and  Leonard,  Leon- 
ard’s wife,  Martha;  and  many  Dart  nieces  and 
nephews.  □ 

Lizanne  Magraw 

Lizanne  Magraw,  who  died  in  Seattle,  WA 
on  June  4,  2000,  at  the  age  of  77  had  been 
a member  of  University  Friends  Meeting  for 
just  over  fifty  years. 

Bom  Elizabeth  Ann  Markus  in  Minneapo- 
lis, MN  on  February  15,  1923,  the  daughter  of 
William  and  Laura  Markus,  Lizanne  was  the 
oldest  of  three  sisters.  Their  father’s  business 
failed  during  the  Depression  and  the  three  girls 
kept  house  while  their  mother  worked  to  sup- 
port the  family,  Lizanne  making  most  of  their 
clothing.  She  ultimately  majored  in  Home  Eco- 
nomics, including  clothing  design,  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Minnesota,  from  which  she  graduated 
in  1 942.  By  then  she  had  met  Jack  Magraw  and 
they  were  active  together  in  the  Pacifist  Action 
Fellowship  and  the  Fellowship  of  Reconcilia- 
tion. Along  with  their  close  friends  Chuck 
Ludwig  and  Dave  Salstrom,  Jack  and  Liz  began 
thinking  of  creating  an  intentional  community. 

With  the  coming  of  World  War  II,  Jack, 
Chuck  and  Dave  all  entered  Civilian  Public 
Service  as  conscientious  objectors.  Jack  joined 


a group  who  then  walked  out  of  the  CPS  camp 
in  Coshockton,  OH,  to  protest  being  assigned 
to  what  they  considered  non-essential  work 
rather  than  being  permitted  to  aid  war  victims. 

For  this  they  were  imprisoned.  Liz  thor- 
oughly approved  Jack’s  stand  and,  when  he 
was  paroled  to  Philadelphia  in  1946,  they  were 
married  there.  It  was  also  in  Philadelphia  that 
they  joined  the  Society  of  Friends,  transferring 
their  memberships  to  University  Friends  Meet- 
ing when  they  moved  West  in  1949. 

They  had  first  planned  to  join  Chuck  and 
Helen  Ludwig  at  Bass  Lake  Community  Farm 
in  Minnesota,  but  that  community  had  dis- 
solved before  Jack  was  paroled,  so  they  joined 
the  Ludwigs  in  Mukilteo  instead,  the  two  cou- 
ples then  buying  neighboring  land  on  Waldron 
Island,  to  which  they  moved  in  1990.  The  first 
year  on  the  island,  Liz  taught  school  and  they 
lived  in  the  teacher’s  cottage.  Then  they 
moved  to  an  old  farm  house  on  Taylor’s  Point, 
their  home  from  then  on,  a house  with  no  elec- 
tricity and,  at  first,  no  running  water.  While 
Jack  earned  their  living  off-island,  traveling  as 
a manufacturer’s  representative,  Liz  remained 
active  in  the  school,  recruiting  teachers  and 
directing  plays  for  which  she  made  the  cos- 
tumes. She  continued  making  the  family’s 
clothing,  including  Jack’s  suits.  Though  they 
could  be  only  occasional  worshippers  in  Seat- 
tle, they  held  meetings  for  worship  on  the  is- 
land, either  in  their  home  or  outdoors. 

In  1966  they  moved  to  Seattle  so  that 
their  five  daughters — Alison,  Kristi,  Linnea, 
Melanie  and  Martha — could  attend  high 
school.  During  this  interval,  Lizanne  taught  in 
a Seattle  elementary  school  and  earned  her 
Masters  degree  in  Education  from  the  Univer- 
sity of  Washington.  With  their  three  younger 
daughters,  Jack  and  Lizanne  returned  to  Wal- 
dron in  1971  and  she  once  again  threw  herself 
into  community  life  there,  taking  an  active  part 
in  writing  the  first  Waldron  Island  Land  Use 
Plan. 

Jack  died  in  an  automobile  accident,  off- 
island,  in  1980.  Lizanne  remained  on  Wal- 
dron, finally  replacing  the  drafty  old  farm 
house  with  a new  one  in  the  same  location  in 
1986.  Though  she  was  diagnosed  with  Parkin- 
son’s disease,  she  was  able  to  live  independ- 
ently until  1992  and  then,  with  caregivers, 
until  1996,  when  she  moved  to  a home  in  Se- 
attle where  she  received  loving  care  until  her 
death. 

Though  Jack  and  Lizanne  attended  Uni- 
versity Meeting  regularly  only  during  those 
five  years  they  lived  in  Seattle,  they  were  well 
known  and  well  loved  members  of  our  fellow- 
ship, many  visiting  them  on  Waldron  and  they 
appearing  among  us  periodically.  Though  they 
had  not  found  the  intentional  community  of 
their  first  dreams,  they  lived  simply,  creatively 
and  happily  in  the  island  community  they  had 
helped  to  build. 

There  was  a memorial  for  Lizanne  at  Uni- 
versity Meeting  on  July  9th  and  another,  later, 
on  Waldron  Island.  □ 


Page  20 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


Nancy  Cox  Hollister 

Nancy  Cox  Hollister  died  at  home  in  Santa 
Barbara,  CA,  on  July  31,  2001 . She  was 
bom  May  11,  1914,  in  Syracuse,  NY,  to  Phillip 
W.L.  Cox  and  Ruth  Dillaway  Cox.  Nancy  be- 
came affiliated  with  the  Religious  Society  of 
Friends  in  the  1940s  when  she  attended,  and 
then  joined,  the  Fifteenth  Street  Meeting  in 
New  York  City.  She  later  transferred  her  mem- 
bership to  Media  Meeting,  in  Media,  PA,  and 
then  to  Winter  Park  Meeting,  FL.  When  she 
moved  within  Florida,  she  helped  to  organize  a 
worship  group  that  eventually  became  the  Fort 
Myers  Meeting. 

In  1995,  she  and  her  husband,  Russ, 
moved  to  Santa  Barbara,  CA  and  transferred 
their  memberships  to  the  Santa  Barbara  Friends 
Meeting.  For  many  years  she  traditionally 
spent  summers  on  Martha’s  Vineyard,  MA 
where  she  was  a sojourning  member  of  the 
Martha’s  Vineyard  Friends  Meeting  from  its 
inception  as  a worship  group  through  its  for- 
mation as  a monthly  meeting, 

Nancy  devoted  her  life  to  labor  relations 
and  civil  rights.  She  was  a student  at  Antioch 
College  in  the  1930s  in  a program  that  alter- 
nated course  work  with  work  experience. 
While  doing  student  teaching  in  Aliquippa,  PA 
she  became  aware  of  the  growing  unrest  among 
American  laborers  and  efforts  to  suppress  un- 
ion organizers.  To  understand  these  contradic- 
tions between  American  ideals  and  their  real- 


ity, in  1935  Nancy  traveled,  studied  and 
worked  abroad. 

In  England  during  the  fall  of  1935,  she 
took  courses  at  Westhill  College  in  Selly 
Oaks,  Fircroft,  at  the  Central  College  in 
Woodbrooke,  at  the  University,  and  the  Men’s 
Workers  School.  She  designed  a program  of 
courses  based  on  her  interests:  economics,  the 
League  of  Nations,  industrial  history,  and  phi- 
losophy. She  also  did  social  work  in  the  Child 
Guidance  Clinic  in  Birmingham.  In  December, 
she  traveled  to  France  and  Switzerland.  In 
Geneva,  Nancy  sought  and  received  a two- 
month  position  with  the  International  Labor 
Office  of  the  League  of  Nations. 

After  thirteen  months  abroad,  Nancy  de- 
cided to  continue  her  academic  studies  at  New 
York  University,  graduating  a year  later.  She 
then  devoted  her  work  to  the  labor  movement 
and  efforts  to  guarantee  the  Bill  of  Rights  in 
the  greater  New  York  City  area.  She  became 
Executive  Director  of  the  New  Jersey  Civil 
Liberties  Union.  This  position  led  to  an  offer 
to  become  the  Assistant  to  the  National  Direc- 
tor of  the  American  League  for  Peace  and  De- 
mocracy. Nancy  showed  a remarkable  ability 
to  move  into  a newly  created  position  and  dis- 
cern quickly  what  was  needed,  to  think  on  her 
feet  in  frequently  volatile  situations,  and  pre- 
vent violence  from  escalating. 

Marriage,  a farming  adventure  in  west- 
ern Massachusetts,  and  various  life  changes 
eventually  brought  Nancy  to  graduate 
school  where  her  research  focused  on  Na- 


tive American  Relations  during  President 
Grant’s  Administration.  After  a year  at  Pendle 
Hill,  she  decided  to  redirect  her  work.  Between 
1960  and  1962,  she  was  Executive  Director  of 
the  Media  Fellowship  House  in  Media,  PA,  and 
then  from  1 962  to  1 963  she  worked  at  the  Berean 
Institute  in  Philadelphia.  In  1964,  she  became 
assistant  director  of  the  West  Chester  Commu- 
nity Center.  When  she  moved  to  Fort  Myers,  FL, 
she  worked  with  the  NAACP  during  the  Civil 
Rights  Movement. 

In  the  1970s,  Nancy’s  spirit  of  adventure 
took  her  on  a freighter  bound  for  Australia. 
However,  she  decided  to  disembark  in  New 
Zealand  for  what  she  thought  would  be  a short 
time.  There  she  attended  the  Friends  Meeting 
and  met  a number  of  sculptors  and  artists. 
She  stayed  seven  months,  made  many  wonder- 
ful friendships  and  never  continued  on  to 
Australia.  Years  later,  she  returned  to  attend 
the  New  Zealand  Summer  Gathering  of 
Friends  and  spend  four  months  there  with  her 
friends.  Many  remember  her  as  one  of  the 
most  perceptive,  courageous,  artistically  tal- 
ented, and  loving  friends  they  have  known. 

She  is  survived  by  her  husband  Russell 
Hollister,  four  nieces:  Emma  Owen,  Nancy 
and  Melinda  Cox,  and  Barbara  Salkin;  and 
three  nephews:  Fred,  Peter  and  Gregory  Cox, 
as  well  as  many  great  nieces  and  nephews.  □ 

Correction:  FB,  November  2001,  p.  20:  it 
should  have  been  noted  that  Jean  Taylor  passed 
away  on  Oct.  9,  2000. 


Friends  Bulletin 
Special 
Publications 
Endowment  Fund 

Approximately  one-fifth  of  Friends 
Bulletin's,  revenue  comes  from  dona- 
tions. The  financial  support  of  readers 
like  you  is  what  helps  our  magazine  to  grow  and  maintain  its  qual- 
ity. 

The  Board  of  Friends  Bulletin  recently  established  a fund  to 
support  future  special  publication  projects,  similar  to  the  Western 
Quaker  Reader,  or  a proposed  pamphlet  series  that  would  be  in- 
serted into  the  magazine  as  well  as  distributed  through  the  wider 
world  of  Friends. 

If  you  would  like  to  support  special  projects  or  our  ongoing 
work,  please  consider  remembering  Friends  Bulletin  in  your  will  or 
trust.  While  gifts  of  all  sizes  are  needed  and  always  appreciated, 
building  an  endowment  for  Friends  Bulletin  is  the  best  way  to  as- 
sure the  magazine’s  continued  ability  to  be  a voice  for  and  among 
independent  Western  Friends. 

For  charitable  giving  information,  please  contact  Lanny  Jay, 
Treasurer  of  our  Board.  Phone:  707-869-0759;  Fax:  707-869-3034; 
or  E-mail:  landbirdl4@  cs.com. 


available 
from  the 


Friends 

General 

Conference 

Bookstore 

1216  Arch  Street,  2B 
Philadelphia,  PA  19107 

For  a free  2002  catalog 
or  to  order,  call: 

I-800-966-4556 


bookstore@fgcquaker.org 

Now  order 
through  the  web! 

www.quakerbooks.org 


Quaker  Press 

of  Friends  General  Conference 


Transforming  Power 
for  Peace 

Lawrence  S.Apsey,  James 
Bristol,  Karen  Eppler 

A book  of  short  essays  on  non- 
violent philosophy  and  history 
that  provides  a deep  under- 
standing of  how  the  Quaker  testi- 
monies lead  to  powerful  action  for 
justice  and  peace.  The  work  of 

Gandhi,  Martin  Luther  King,  Jr. 

and  others  illuminate  what  can  be  accomplished  by  following 
the  light  within — seeking  and  speaking  the  truth.  Anyone 
interested  in  spiritually  grounded  social  action  will  find  useful 
information  and  inspiration  in  this  easy-to-read  volume. 

QP  ofFGC  andAVPIUSA,  2001,  96  pp.,  paperback  $7.00 


A Little  Journal  of  Devotions 
out  of  Quaker  Worship:  An 

Experiment  with  1 04  Entries  across 
Two  Thousand  Miles 
by  Francis  D.  Hole  and  Ellie  Shacter 

Written  by  two  Friends  (one  in  San 
Diego,  CA  and  the  other  in  Madison, 

WI)  in  an  informal  and  prayer  full  style 
that  is  accessible  to  all.  Perfect  as  a gift 
to  yourself  or  for  a F/friend. 

QP  of  FGC,  2001,  1 12  pp.,  paperback 


$9.95 


Page  21 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


■“'iKTl  “The  humble,  meek,  merciful,  just,  pious,  and  devout  souls  are 
MKOrtM  everYwhere  of  one  religion,  and  when  death  has  taken  off  the  mask, 
W they  will  know  one  another  though  the  divers  liveries  they  wear 
^3**'  here  make  them  strangers.”  — William  Penn,  1673 

=>For  subscriptions  and  information,  write:  Quaker  Universalist 
Fellowship,  206  Shady  Ln,  Lexington,  KY  40503  or  E-mail:  QUF@ot.com. 

Join  the  folks  at  Friendly  Horse  Acres  for  a day  at  a horse  farm.  All 

ages  welcome.  Camps  are  set  up  to  encourage  confidence  in  people  who 
are  fearful  of  horses,  as  well  as  more  experienced  horse  lovers.  Learn  to 
see  the  world  from  the  horse’s  point  of  view.  Visit  www. 
friendlyhorseacres.com.  Phone:  360-825-3628.  E-mail:  friendlyhorse- 
acres@excite.com . 

Santa  Fe,  NM  Friends  Meeting  seeks  resident.  Mature,  hospitable 
Friend  for  a two-year  term,  beginning  11/2001.  Commitment  to  Quaker- 
ism and  service.  Send  for  information:  Search  Committee,  SFMMF,  630 
Canyon  Road,  Santa  Fe,  NM  87501.  505-983-7241. 

Concerned  Singles  Newsletter  links  compatible,  socially  conscious 
singles  who  care  about  peace,  social  justice,  racism,  gender  equality,  and 
the  health  of  the  planet.  Nationwide  and  Canada.  All  ages.  Since  1984. 
Free  sample:^  Box  444-FB,  Lenox  Dale,  MA  01242.  2 413-445-6309 
orH  http://www.concemedsingles.com. 

JOHN  WOOLMAN  SCHOOL  the  only  West  Coast  Friends 
secondary  boarding  school!  Simple  rural  living,  small  classes,  work 
program,  loving  community.  John  Woolman  School,  13075  Woolman 
Lane,  Nevada  City,  CA  95959.  530-273-3183. 

Resident.  Redwood  Forest  Friends  Meeting,  Santa  Rosa,  CA.  Resi- 
dents performing  hospitality  and  caretaking  duties  are  sought  for  a dy- 
namic  Friends  Meeting  north  of  San  Francisco.  Post  inquiries  to  Resident 
Committee,  RFFM  Box  1831,  Santa  Rosa,  CA  95402. 

Alert:  PYM’s  Faith  and  Practice  is  now  available  for  $10  (plus  ship- 
ping and  handling)  at  the  AFSC  Bookstore,  980  N Fair  Oaks,  Pasadena, 
CA  91 103.  818-791-1978. 

BEN  LOMOND  Quaker  Center:  Personal  retreats,  family  reunions,  wed- 
dings,  retreats,  and  our  own  schedule  of  Quaker  Programs.  Among  the  Red- 
woods, near  Santa  Cruz,  CA.  83 1 -336-8333,  http://www.quakercenter.org. 

William  J.  Papp  Portland  Friends  School,  located  in  SW  Port- 
land, OR:  A small  Friends  school  for  children,  grades  K-6,  rooted  in 
Quaker  values.  Children  are  provided  with  a quality  academic  and  a de- 
velopmentally  appropriate  education.  The  school  environment  is  caring 
and  nurturing  with  strong  emphasis  on  non-violent  resolution.  For  infor- 
mation, contact  Judy  Smith,  jatesmith@earthlink.net  or  503-977-0322. 

QUAKER  WRITERS  AND  ARTISTS!  Read  Types  & Shadows,  the  ex- 
citing newsletter  of  the  Fellowship  of  Quakers  in  the  Arts.  FQA’s  goal: 
To  nurture  and  showcase  the  literary,  visual,  musical,  and  performing  arts 
within  the  Religious  Society  of  Friends,  for  purposes  of  Quaker  expression, 
ministry,  witness,  and  outreach.  To  these  ends,  we  will  offer  spiritual,  practi- 
cal, and  financial  support  as  way  opens.  Help  build  an  international  network 
of  creative  support  and  celebration.  Membership  $22/year.  FQA,  Dept.  FB, 
PO  Box  58565,  Philadelphia,  PA  19102.  E-mail:  fqa@quaker.org.  Web: 
http://www.quaker.org/fqa/index.html. 

Friends  House  is  a multi-level  retirement  community  offering  in- 
dependent living  apartments  and  houses,  an  assisted  care  living  facility, 
skilled  nursing  and  an  adult  day  services  program  serving  residents  and 
the  wider  Santa  Rosa,  CA  community.  Located  in  Santa  Rosa,  Friends 
House  is  easily  accessible  to  San  Francisco,  the  Pacific  Coast,  redwood 
forests,  and  the  vineyards  of  Sonoma  and  Napa  counties.  Friends  House 
is  owned  and  operated  by  Friends  Association  of  Services  for  the  Elderly 
(FASE),  a California  not-for-profit  corporation.  The  facility  and  Board 
of  Directors  are  strongly  influenced  by  Quaker  traditions.  The  welfare 
and  growth  of  persons  within  an  environment  which  stresses  independ- 
ence  is  highly  valued.  Tour  Friends  House  at  our  website  at  www. 
friendshouse.org.  Friends  House,  684  Benicia  Drive,  Santa  Rosa,  CA 
95409.  707-538-0152. 

What  if  you  had  a mirror  for  your  soul?  Then  what  could  you  create 
in  your  life?  For  a free,  sample  session  of  co-active  life  coaching,  contact 
Bruce  Thron-Weber  at  303-399-4752  or  BruceCoach@aol.com.  I coach 
over  the  telephone  and  it  works  well. 

Coming  to  DC?  Stay  with  Friends  on  Capitol  Hill.  William  Penn 
House,  a Quaker  Seminar  and  Hospitality  Center  in  beautiful,  historic  town- 
house,  is  located  five  blocks  east  of  the  US  Capitol.  Convenient  to  Union 
Station  for  train  and  METRO  connections.  Shared  accommodations  includ- 
ing continental  breakfast,  for  groups,  individuals.  515  East  Capitol  Street  SE, 
Washington,  DC  20003.  E-mail:  dirpennhouse@pennsnet.org.  Phone:  202- 
543-5560  Fax:  202-543-3814. 

Interns.  9-12  month  commitment,  beginning  January,  June,  or  Septem- 
ber. Assist  with  seminars  and  hospitality  at  William  Penn  House,  5 
blocks  from  US  Capitol.  Room,  board,  and  small  stipend. 

Consider  a Costa  Rica  Study  Tour  • Take  a 12-day  trip  to  see  the 
real  Costa  Rica.  For  information  and  a brochure  call:  520-364-8694  or 
001-506-645-5436.  E-mail:  jstuckey@racsa.co.cr  or  write:  Roy  Joe 
Stuckey,  6567  N.  San  Luis  Obispo  Dr.,  Douglas,  AZ  85607. 

Make  friends,  make  music  at  FRIENDS  MUSIC  CAMP,  2 or  4-week 
summer  program  for  ages  10-18.  Brochure,  video:  FMC,  PO  Box  427, 
Yellow  Springs,  OH  45387  (937)  767-1311.  Musicfmc@yahoo.com. 

Advertising  Rates  and  Policies:  All  ads  must  be  consistent  with 
beliefs  and  testimonies  of  Friends.  $.45  per  word  for  ads.  Minimum 
charge,  $9.  Ads  should  be  prepaid,  if  possible.  Deadline:  six  weeks 
prior  to  publication.  Publishing  of  advertisements  and  newsletter 
inserts  does  not  imply  endorsement  by  Friends  Bulletin. 

Display  ads:  $12  per  column  inch.  For  more  information,  call  562-699- 
V4  page  ad  (4  x 4V2):  $85  5670  or  E-mail:  FriendsBul@aol. 

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2 column  ad  (5  x 10):  $225  ring  ads  and  special  rates  for  four- 

V2  page  ad  (7V4  x 41/ '2):  $1 60  or-more-page  newsletter  inserts. 

Full  page  (7'/2X  10):  $290 

When  traveling  to  the  Pacific  Northwest,  consider  the  simple  and  eco- 
nomical travelers’  rooms  at  QUAKER  HOUSE  IN  SEATTLE  (WA). 
Reservations  required:  206-632-9839  or  E-mail:  pablopaz@juno.com. 

Writer  as  Contemplative:  Jan.  5-12,  2002.  Crestone,  CO.  A writing 
and  prayer  retreat  by  Peter  Anderson,  writing  instructor  at  Earlham 
School  of  Religion.  For  more  information,  write  Clear  Creek  Writing 
Center,  Box  904,  Crestone,  CO  81 131  or  E-mail:  otterson@fone.net. 

Western  Friends  Latest  News! 

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Visit  us  soon! 


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Phone:  765-962-7573. 

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Friends  Journal  has  published 
“Quaker  Thought  and  Life  T o- 
day”  for  nearly  50  years,  suc- 
ceeding periodicals  that  date 
from  the  19th  century.  Learn 
more  about  Quaker  concerns  and  activi- 
ties through  this  monthly  magazine.  Re- 
quest three  free  issues  or  subscribe  now 
(send  $29)  to  get  16  issues  for  the  price  of 
12.  Contact:  Friends  Journal , Dept.  FB, 
1216  Arch  Street,  2A,  Philadelphia,  PA19107. 
<Info@friendsjournal.org>. 


Page  22 


Friends  Bulletin  — December  2001 


A Campaign  for  a New  Century 


Giving  Thanks  at  Year  End 

The  end  of  the  year  is  traditionally  when  people 
review  their  financial  transactions  for  the  past  year 
and  assess  their  fiscal  health.  Did  we  meet  our  bud- 
getary goals?  Did  we  reduce  our  debt?  How  did  our 
investments  do? 

It  is  also  the  time  when  people  pay  off  their  pledges  or 
consider  a "bonus"  gift  to  their  Meeting  and  to  other 
Friends  organizations  they  support.  Giving  securities, 
especially  long-term  appreciated  stock,  makes  a lot  of 
sense!  Why?  Because  the  donor  receives  a DOUBLE  tax 
benefit!  First,  you  receive  a current  income  tax  deduction 
for  the  full  fair-market  value  of  the  stock.  Then,  you  pay 
NO  capital  gains  tax  on  the  "paper  profit." 


to  Pendle  Hill  instead  of  cash,  we  receive  a gift  of  $1,000  - 
the  fair  market  value  of  the  stock  - and  she  can  claim  a 
$1,000  charitable  deduction  on  her  next  income  tax  return. 
In  a 28%  tax  bracket,  that  is  a tax  savings  of  $280.  Plus,  she 
avoids  $150  in  capital  gains  taxes  that  would  have  been  due  if 
she  had  sold  the  stock. 

Transferring  stock  to  Pendle  Hill  is  not  as  difficult  as  it 
may  seem.  If  your  stock  is  held  by  your  broker  or  your 
trust  department,  it  can  usually  be  transferred  electroni- 
cally to  our  account.  If  you  hold  the  certificates  per- 
sonally, they  can  be  mailed  by  certified  mail. 


For  example,  Betty  Smith  has  stock  she  purchased  in  1985  A QUAKER  CENTER  FOR  WORSHIP, 

for  $250  and  is  now  worth  $1,000.  If  Betty  gives  the  stock  STUDY,  WORK  AND  SERVICE 


1 

Invest  in  the  future  of  pendle  hill 

n 

If  you  want  more  information  on  how  to 
make  a charitable  transfer  of  stock  and 
other  securities,  please  contact: 

Barbara  Parsons 

Director  of  Development 

Pendle  Hill 

338  Plush  Mill  Road 

Wallingford,  PA  19086-6099 

800.742.3150,  ext.  132 

E-mail  contributions@pendlehill.  org 

www.pendlehill.org 

about 

Independ- 

ent 

Quakers 

in  the 

Western 

United 

States, 

1929-1999 


Western 

Quaker 

Reader 


Edited  by 
Anthony 
Manousos 


Pray 

fop  Peace 


western . quaker . org 


“Pray  for  Peace”  Bumper  Sticker  only  $4  (with  postage,  tax,  and 
handling).  10  or  more  for  only  $3  each.  (Actual  size). 

8 1/2”  x 11”  Plastic  “Pray  for  Peace”  Banner  $5  each. 


Inside 

This 


Gift-wrapping  and  priority 
Delivery  at  no  extra  cost! 


Would  you  like  to  share  the  legacy  of  Western  Quakers  with  someone 
special  during  the  holidays? 

Order  a Western  Quaker  Reader  for  only  $22  (includes  shipping  and  tax) 
and  it  will  be  sent  priority  mail  and  gift-wrapped  at  no  extra  cost. 

“An  excellent  job  of  weaving  the  threads  of  western  experience  to  make  a cohesive  image  of 
the  evolution  of  Quakerism  in  the  west.  Readers  will  want  to  have  this  book  for  reference  as 
well  as  for  sampling  the  essays  for  years  to  come.”  — Margaret  Bacon,  author  of  Quiet  Rebels 


Bill  Durland,  “Israel  and  Palestine:  Report  from  a Friends  Peace  Team  Participant” 

Friendly  Responses  to  Current  Conflict:  Claremont  Meeting,  Charleen  Kruger,  Susanne 
Weil,  Bill  Ashworth,  AFSC  Blanket  Campaign,  and  a Prayer  from  Reedwood  Church 

Herb  Dimock,  “How  Can  Israel  Find  Peace  and  Freedom?” 

Herb  Dimock,  “The  Cosmic  Christ:  the  Next  Step  in  Evolution” 

“Art  for  the  Sake  of  Earthquake  Victims:  Palo  Alto  Quaker  Artist  Pledges  to  Raise 
$3,000” 

Peter  Anderson,  “Quakers  and  the  Theology  of  Light” 

Jeanne  Lohmann,  “January  Moss”  (A  Poem) 

Notices  and  Announcements 

Robert  Murphy,  “Moments  of  Everyday  Ecstasy  Bring  us  Closer  to  God”  and  Reviews 
Memorial  Minutes 


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